‘Possibility of snow’ looms over Puget Sound for next week
Feb 14, 2019, 12:02 PM | Updated: Feb 15, 2019, 10:40 am
Snow falls on the statue of Seattle Mariners' legend Ken Griffey Jr., Monday, Feb. 11, 2019. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
(AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
The Puget Sound region was slammed by snow last week. Areas like Snoqualmie Pass and North Bend are still suffering the effects. But is winter snow completely behind us, or is there more to come?
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“Is there a possibility of snow again the lowlands next week? Yes. At this point does it look like anything major? No,” said the National Weather Service on Friday.
A look for what's in store for W WA over the next couple of days:
Rain, with a few flakes in some areas, has returned and is expected to continue to into Sun. We should see a brief break Sun aft-Mon. Snow is possible Tues, but specific details remain uncertain at this time. #WAwx pic.twitter.com/sMRO6IovEO— NWS Seattle (@NWSSeattle) February 15, 2019
Outside of that, here’s what we know so far: February has been cold. Below average temperatures set in the second the calendar flipped on to the first of the month, and according to the National Weather Service, those temperatures are likely to continue into the near future.
In total, Seattle Weather Blog estimates that the city has run 9 degrees below normal so far this month.
For Valentine’s Day, though, Mother Nature’s gift to Seattle was the city’s warmest day in almost two weeks, checking in at a high of 43 degrees Fahrenheit. Lows for the next few days range between 25 and 36 degrees.
More about snow
Temperatures will remain low next week. Once again, various smartphone apps are featuring a little snowflake next to some days — much to the frustration of KIRO 7 Meteorologist Nick Allard.
“You know, you can delete that from the iPhone now,” Allard said, noting that no weather conditions can be accurately forecast an entire week out. Weather apps are frequently changing when the snow is expected, speaking to the unpredictability.
“There are a lot of people seeing a snowflake without any context on their stock weather app for next week and worried about a repeat of the snowstorm,” he said. “Temperatures will be cold enough next week for lowland snow or a rain/snow mix. Weather systems look to roll through from about Tuesday to Thursday, but still, these systems do not look menacing at this time as they look short on moisture. Still, there is certainly a shot at a few inches of snow or slush over a few days next week, but right now that’s all it looks like.”
But what is certain is that it will be cold.
“You could see some pockets of wet snow overnight Saturday into Sunday,” Allard said. “Otherwise, Sunday is dry, and Monday is dry. Tuesday, right now, I think snow levels will be at about 1,000 feet, so that means some snow and wet snow … this would be more of that spotty, annoying events where there’s snow at 470 feet, and 320 feet has rain.
Snow systems can be notoriously difficult to predict, but the possibility remains as long as temperatures continue to sit in the low-30s.
Meanwhile, snow continues up in the Cascades, with more on the way between Thursday and Friday of this week. The NWS predicts up to 6 inches at mountain pass levels, and up to a full foot of accumulation at higher elevations (starting at 3,000 feet).
