First Freeze, Taste of Winter for Western Washington

A weather system moved NW-SE through Western Washington today, bringing occasional rain and winds gusting 15-30 mph. This system also brought snow to the Cascades, and 6 inches to Spokane! Wow!

Behind this system, cold northerly winds (coming from the north) will blow into Western Washington from Canada. 

Here’s the 9:30 PM Friday temperatures.

Temperatures will be slow to cool through the night, with lows reaching the upper 30s-mid 40s. Friday night will be the warmest night until Tuesday night.

Expansive high pressure moving into the Western United States will bring sunny and cold weather to our area this weekend.

A Freeze Watch is in effect for the Lowlands from 2-10 AM Sunday. Click the alert name or view it below.

Bottom line: low temperatures of 27-32 degrees likely Sunday morning, ending the growing season, and bringing a chance of black ice on untreated roads.

Below is the UW forecast for 7 AM Sunday. Cold in Western Washington, colder in eastern parts of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho, and downright frigid in Montana and Wyoming.

In addition to freezing temperatures, winds will gust 20-40 mph from the north this weekend. This will create wind chills of 15-35 degrees. Brrrr! Below is a wind chill chart from the NWS. (Temperature on top, wind on the left.)

Here is a graphic from NWS Seattle showing expected low temperatures Sunday & Monday nights. (Click to enlarge).

It won’t just be cold during the night and in the mornings...daytime highs will only reach 45-53 degrees from Saturday-Tuesday.