Cold Mornings & the Potential for More Cold Weather

 FastCast—Wednesday, Feb. 15 to Sunday, Feb. 19:

Multiple Convergence Zone bands brought thunderstorms, lowland snow, and accumulating hail on Monday. Areas from SeaTac to Graham and from South Whidbey Island to Lake Stevens got snow. The highest snow accumulations were in Southern and Eastern King County, with 1-3 inches, most in the foothills. Quite a cold morning is ahead on Wednesday, with lows dropping to the mid 20s for most of the lowlands. Expect increasing clouds on Wednesday, with highs in the upper 40s, melting most remaining snow. Thursday morning will also be chilly, with lows in the upper 20s to low 30s. Conditions moderate through Sunday, with mostly cloudy conditions and highs in the upper 40s, with lows in the mid 30s to low 40s. A weak system late Thursday to early Friday will bring brief light rain and a slight chance of brief light snow. Another shot at active & cold weather is possible in the middle of next week, so stay tuned for more information.

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Continue reading the full blog below!

Cold air made its presence known around the lowlands on Monday night, bringing lowland snow for many locations, but not all. However, all locations will feel this round of cold air’s final act on Wednesday morning. Take a look at the European model forecast for Wednesday morning’s lows.

Around the lowlands, expect lows in the mid 20s, except closer to the upper 20s near the water and in the 30s on the coast and along the Strait, Admiralty Inlet, and the San Juans. The Willamette Valley will drop into the low to mid 20s, and Eastern Washington will reach the upper teens to mid 20s.

Similar lows, except more in the upper 20s to low 30s in the lowlands, are expected on Thursday morning as well.

Conditions will return to a more typical cloudy and calm pattern for the remainder of this week, with a weak system late Thursday to early Friday bringing brief light rain and a potential for brief light snow (though not likely…but watch temperatures late Thursday into Friday morning).

Now, let’s take a look at the potential for an Arctic blast next week. We are just over a week out from this prediction for next Wednesday (23rd). Note the yellow box, showing a polar lobe, or Arctic air from Canada moving into the Northwest.

This feature has shown up on the European, American (GFS), and Canadian (GEM) models, despite being over a week out. While this is still too far away to make solid predictions, there is a decent potential for at least more cold temperatures next week. 

That increased chance of cold temperatures is reflected in the NWS Climate Prediction Center temperature outlook for February 22-28.

This outlook shows a 70-80% probability of below average temperatures for most of the Pacific Northwest for the last 6-7 days of February.

It is too early to make specific predictions about this potential cold pattern, but stay tuned as details become clearer.

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I received 1.5” of snow at my house in Federal Way on Monday night. This was near the upper end of forecasts. Take a look at a few photos from the event…the snowflakes were huge (indicating they’re close to melting), and the snow was very wet. While it can be a nuisance, snow does make most surroundings prettier!