MYNORTHWEST NEWS

Snow falls across Western Washington; 2016 enters climate ‘hall of fame’

Jan 1, 2017, 8:18 AM | Updated: 11:17 am

snow...

Snow blankets a backyard in Granite Falls. (MyNorthwest reader submitted photo)

(MyNorthwest reader submitted photo)

Some Western Washington residents woke up to pockets of snow and ice on New Year’s Day morning. Snow was reported in Bellingham, Granite Falls, Issaquah, Woodinville, Tacoma, and Orting.

Check the latest weather forecast

KIRO 7 reports any residual moisture Sunday night could freeze on roadways for the Monday morning drive.

Following this, we could have three or more days during the week where Seattle doesn’t get above freezing. That hasn’t happened since December 2008. Highs will be in the 20s to low 30s and lows in the teens and 20s through Thursday.

The National Weather Service in Seattle says 2016 will enter the climate record “hall of fame.” Why? December was Seattle’s coldest month since December 2009, but we also experienced the warmest April and November on record. In fact, according to the NWS, Seattle had its second warmest year on record.

The NWS reports 2015, 2016, and 2014 were the warmest years on record — all by large margins — dating back to the 1890s.

To put it into greater perspective, the NWS says that December 2016 averaged only a degree warmer in Seattle than in December 2008. However, there was snow on the ground in Seattle for two consecutive weeks in Seattle that year.

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Snow falls across Western Washington; 2016 enters climate ‘hall of fame’