Seattle schools closed; snow falling across Puget Sound region
Jan 14, 2020, 5:18 AM | Updated: 10:38 pm
I-5 near Mount Vernon on Tuesday night. (WSDOT)
(WSDOT)
Schools across Western Washington are closed, including in Seattle, or delayed on Wednesday while a band of heavy snow blows across the region into Canada.
School closings and delays
Mountain pass webcams
10 PM Situation Report | Snow is drifting northward at this hour with the heaviest snow across Whatcom/Skagit Counties and along the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Snow will push north to the Canadian border by early Wednesday morning. Winds gusts of 25-30 MPH also in spots. #WAwx pic.twitter.com/fhe4xJuyL8
— NWS Seattle (@NWSSeattle) January 15, 2020
The National Weather Service says snow is moving from the Olympia Peninsula over areas in Seattle north to Bellingham and into Canada. That will have the region on a Winter Storm Watch into Wednesday morning.
The NWS slightly downgraded the accumulations from five inches in some places to: 1-2 inches in Seattle, 3-4″ in Everett, 2-3″ in Bellingham, and under 1 inch in Tacoma. It says heaviest accumulations will be in Snohomish County into Skagit and Whatcom Counties, and along the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
Here is a timeline beginning tonight – Friday. We are still expecting a band of moderate-heavy snow to impact the area (King County northward) mainly after 8PM. Winds pick up Weds PM-Thursday AM over the Cascade foothills. Slick roads possible for your Wednesday commute! #wawx pic.twitter.com/7hsiAE6Tyf
— NWS Seattle (@NWSSeattle) January 14, 2020
The Washington State Department of Transportation says it has crews out plowing and treating roads, but there will be areas of slush, snow, and ice on bridges, ramps, and overpasses. They’re warning drivers to slow down and expect delays.
The NWS says by Wednesday afternoon into Thursday morning winds will increase to 45-60 mpg gusts in the Cascade foothills. By Thursday afternoon, temperatures will continue to warm up, resulting in rain or rain/snow mix.
Seattle City Light is warning people to “be prepared for outages,” with high winds expected to cause issues with falling trees near power lines.
