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March snow? It’s in the forecast for some places

Though it’s not a first for Western Washington, snow is in the forecast for parts of the lowlands as we head toward the end of March.

But don’t get out your snow boots unless you’re heading to the mountains. Low temperatures in the lowlands will drop into the 30s, but any snow that falls in the lowlands will likely be wet or a snow/rain mix.

Here’s what to expect.

Forecast

Thursday morning, it is mainly dry with temperatures in the low to mid-40s. A few more showers will continue to move through, but steadier rain will increase later.

The rain increases in coverage and intensity into midday and beyond, and it gets breezy with wind gusts up to 30 mph in spots.

In the mountains, snow increases, and a Winter Weather Advisory is in effect for the mountains for Thursday through Saturday, and across the three-day period, we could have more than a foot of snow around Mount Rainier with lesser amounts but still potentially impactful through the passes.

Behind a cold front Thursday evening, winds will shift out of the west and start to subside, but it stays breezy into Thursday night. Colder air filters in and snow levels fall to 1,000 feet or below Thursday night into Friday.

We could have some wet snow mixing in, especially on hills into Friday morning.

Later in the day Friday, more showers will be around and with some instability in the afternoon, isolated thunderstorms are possible with lightning, small hail, and again, the chances for wet snow in the lowlands. Any impacts from this kind of weather will be spotty but we’ll be on watch. Lows will be in the 30s and highs in the 40s.

Saturday morning, there will be a few showers and snow levels remain low, but we’re not expecting any significant accumulation. Highs on Saturday will be in the upper 40s with showers diminishing.

Sunday looks drier with a bit more sun, but a few rain or mix showers will remain possible through early next week. Morning lows will be in the 30s to low 40s and highs in the 40s to near 50.