It's no polar vortex, but Seattle will see chillier temperatures in the coming days, along with rain and perhaps even some snow. It could feel especially jarring after such a mild month.
Get ready for the cold!
After nearly a week of clear, blue winter skies and moderate temperatures, the Puget Sound region is set to start next week with its coldest weather so far this winter, according to the National Weather Service in Seattle.
Snow is possible in the Bellingham area, northern Olympic Peninsula and in parts of Thurston County starting late Sunday, Weather Service meteorologist Samantha Borth said. There’s a small chance Seattle could see snow, but there will be little to no accumulation if it does come, she said.
Meteorologists will have a better picture of the likelihood of snow this weekend, Borth said. What is clear is that temperatures will dip across the region.
“It’ll be the coldest weather we’ve seen so far this winter,” meteorologist Jay Albrecht said.
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Temperatures will cool to the low- to mid-40s Friday evening and hit nearly 50 degrees on Saturday, with partly sunny skies and a chance of showers, Albrecht said Friday.
The big change comes toward the latter part of the weekend. It will start to the north of us, as Arctic air begins moving into British Columbia on Saturday night or early Sunday, according to the weather service.
The cold front is predicted to start “squirting cold air into the north interior (Bellingham area) and it will start getting windy and colder as we move into Sunday,” Albrecht said. There’s a possibility, he said, of high-wind warnings in Whatcom County.
The frosty air will likely arrive in the Seattle area on Sunday evening, bringing freezing temperatures with lows in the 20s and highs in the 30s, he said. Temperatures won’t climb above 40 until Tuesday.
Monday morning commuters could face ice-slicked roads and some snow, he said.
The weather service’s various computer models are showing different projections as to how much snow will fall and whether any will accumulate, Albrecht said. On Friday, the models showed that the most likely areas for snow will be north of Everett, on the Olympic Peninsula and northern interior. But one scenario could include snow moving south and crossing through Seattle, Albrecht added.
“We could get a trace, to maybe an inch or two,” he said. “There’s many different ways this could evolve.”
The cold snap could feel especially jarring as it comes on the heels of one of the area’s warmer and drier Januaries on record.
“January is usually our coldest month, but we had a lot of sunny weather and days in the 50s this year,” Albrecht said.
Don’t panic, though. He said the front will be “nothing like the spectacular cold snap they’ve had in the Midwest.”
Drivers should prepare for slippery road conditions with low visibility, the weather service said.
Seattle Times reporter Asia Fields contributed to this report.