Parts of Western Washington wake up to snow, rainy weekend ahead

Western Washington saw some snow again Friday morning, but in most areas accumulation was less than an inch. Any snow that exists is likely to change to rain this afternoon.

According to the National Weather Service in Seattle, rain will be the standard for the rest of the day and the weekend.

“It might get slippery…so drive carefully,” University of Washington atmospheric sciences professor Cliff Mass said on his blog.

The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Weather Advisory for parts of Western Washington, Tacoma the most notable. Seattle weather could hover near record lows with “very cold wind chills as low as 15 to 20 degrees,” according to weather officials.

In his weather blog, meteorologist Nick Allard of KIRO 7 wrote:

We still have a few lingering snow and wet snow showers this morning, mostly flurries or sprinkles. Additional accumulation would be very isolated and overall, doesn’t look likely as showers continue to dry out. Some flurries and light snow showers will be around Snohomish County and some mix showers around Pierce, Thurston and Lewis Counties. The rest of the area may squeeze out a flurry or a sprinkle here and there, but that should be about it. Snohomish County would be your best bet for a quick 1/2-1″ of snow briefly this morning. Most of the area is around 32-34° with some patchy fog. There shouldn’t be much ice, but just be careful and know the potential for patchy ice is there.

We should dry out later this morning and into the afternoon. Our next weather system arrives on Saturday. “This next round of precipitation will usher in milder air that will end the cold snap for the lowlands,” Allard said. “There could be some brief rain/snow mix as precipitation starts on Saturday morning, but it should be all-rain by later in the day. Snow will be heavier in the mountains through Sunday as rain continues in the lowlands. Up to a foot of snow could fall on the passes by the end of the weekend.”

South of King County has higher chance of seeing snow

Southwest Washington was more impacted by the weather.

NWS issued a Winter Weather Advisory for the Hood Canal area and lower Chehalis Valley area, along with the cities of Montesano, Tumwater, Olympia, Shelton, McCleary, Elma and Lacey. Those areas are likely to see up to two inches of wet snow, with the advisory going into effect from 8 a.m. Thursday to 8 a.m. Friday.

The same goes for the East Puget Sound Lowlands, including the cities of Covington, Prairie Ridge, Bonney Lake, Monroe, Enumclaw, Woodinville and Maple Valley. NWS added that the lowlands may see wind gusts as high as 45 mph, which may lead to downed tree branches.

Contributing: Julia Dallas, MyNorthwest; Nick Allard, KIRO 7 meteorologist

Bill Kaczaraba is a content editor at MyNorthwest. You can read his stories here. Follow Bill on X, formerly known as Twitter, here and email him here.