This has been and continues to be a very difficult forecast but we have high confidence now that the “snow-eating” dry air will howl out of the Cascades tonight – even stronger than it is right now. This will keep most spots east of about Interstate 5 with lesser amounts of snow than locations west of Puget Sound.
The heavier snow will move in from the southwest and reach the Tacoma area after about 7 p.m. and the Seattle area after about 10 p.m. It will snow all night and through most of Saturday morning, tapering toward midday with just a few snow showers in the afternoon with minimal further accumulation.
The North Sound from Everett north can expect about 1-4 inches of snow through the morning. The Seattle and King County area will range from 4-7 inches near the water to 1-3 inches toward the mountains. King County is where we’re most likely to see the most radical gradient of heavy snow to little snow within a short geographical area. Unlike many of our snow events, this time being nearer the mountains works against getting heavy snow because you’re closer to the conduits of the cold, dry air – the Cascade gaps.
Pierce County is likely to be in the 5-9 inch range but some of the foothill communities will probably get a little less.
Thurston, Lewis, Mason and the Hood Canal region will be bombarded with 7-12 inches of snow and it could be even a bit heavier right along Hood Canal on the west side. Kitsap County will range from about 4-7 inches near the water to nearly a foot west of Bremerton and Port Orchard.
At the coast and along the Strait, we’ll probably see 4-7 inches of snow but in Grays Harbor and Pacific counties, amounts of snow could be a little less because of freezing rain.
Wind chills tonight will be teens and 20s except single digits near the Cascades. It will be a dangerous night to be outside exposed to the elements.
Roads will be snowpacked or icy in many locations throughout the day Saturday, and we won’t see much thawing even into Sunday until later in the day. The few snow showers we see on Saturday afternoon through Sunday shouldn’t amount to too much more – maybe an inch or so in spots – but we’ll watch for a bit more moisture in the form of some snow showers or rain/snow mix to move in on Sunday evening into Monday morning before it turns to all rain during the day Monday. Travel impacts are likely in many areas to start Monday morning.
Beyond Monday afternoon and any snow turning to rain, we’ll see a moderating trend in temperatures through the rest of the week., back to near normal with occasional rain.
Cox Media Group
