WASHINGTON — A cold front will sweep through the area on Sunday, bringing some periods of rainfall.
Highs will still be in the lower 50s in Seattle, though the colder air moving in later in the day will bring snow levels down to 3,000 feet later in the day with some accumulating snowfall in the mountains.
By Monday morning, snow could start accumulating below pass elevation in the Cascades.
Winds will be breezy on Monday and it will be much colder with morning lows in the 30s and highs in the 40s. Some showers of lowland rain and mountain snow will increase later in the day, but the rain activity will still mainly be light.
Snow level will hover around 1,000 feet by Monday and lowland rain could mix with snow at times by Tuesday morning.
On Tuesday, some spotty showers of rain/snow mix will occur in the lowlands, but with onshore wind flow, morning temperatures will still remain above freezing, so if there is any heavier area of wet snow mixed in, accumulations would be unlikely (especially in any location nearer sea level and near the water where it will be warmest).
Mountain snow will likely pick up later in the day, and we could start to see some pass travel issued by Tuesday night into Wednesday.
The National Weather Service has also issued a Winter Storm Watch for the Central and Northern Cascades from Sunday PM to Monday PM. This includes the Stevens Pass area.
A Winter Weather Advisory is up for Snoqualmie Pass for Monday and Tuesday. The advisories and watches that are posted today could easily be upgraded to watches and warnings this week. Make sure to be aware of the latest forecast if you plan any travel this week.
For Wednesday, it looks like it’ll be once again cold enough early for some rain/snow mix in some lowland spots before it becomes all rain and likely stays that way.
With some milder temperatures later on Wednesday, snow levels will rise a bit but still low enough for heavy mountain snow at all locations – more than a foot is possible by Thursday!
Heavier lowland rain through Thursday could cause some rivers out of the Olympics to spike higher, though no significant flooding is expected.
Winter is not over yet! It will be in your best interest to keep checking the forecast every day this week so you won’t be “surprised” by the weather!