WeatherWatcher: Cold and possible snow

About an inch of snow at the east entrance of the 195th St pedestrian I-5 overpass.
Photo by Carl Dinse on February 9, 2014.

The National Weather Service in Seattle has issued a special weather statement regarding cold weather and possible snow on the way. There is a pool of Arctic air in British Columbia that is starting to spill south into Washington and Oregon. As the front moves south with a low pressure system off the west coast, showers are expected to pick up Sunday afternoon and evening.

Cold air will really start spilling into the Puget Sound area Sunday evening bringing temperatures down to below freezing with rain showers changing over to snow showers by around midnight. North winds are expected to pick up as well, 15-25 mph or so, increasing up to 40 mph Monday morning.

Snow accumulations are uncertain. Forecast models, even with about 24 hours to go, still keep changing their mind on amounts and locations. Generally it is likely we will see a trace to an inch of snow accumulation. It is very possible it could miss us altogether, especially for an area as small as Shoreline and Lake Forest Park.

It is also possible we could get hit with up to 4 inches or so in a worst case scenario with this storm system. Most of the accumulating snow is expected between Midnight and 10am Monday morning.

Monday afternoon things will dry out, and stay cold under mostly cloudy skies. High temperatures in the mid 30's or colder, depending on snow cover with a strong northerly wind gusting up to 40mph in places. Monday night winds will continue to gust up to 35mph, out of the north, with low temperatures down into the lower to mid 20's. Some exposed areas with calmer wind might break into the upper teens.

Tuesday through Wednesday night the winds calm down, with mostly sunny and clear skies. Highs in the upper 30's to near 40°F, lows in the lower to mid 20's. Thursday - Saturday more weather approaches the area, with cold temperatures keeping us right on the margin of rain or snow during the entire forecast. There are not a lot of details right now, but there's potential for more significant and widespread lowland snow as those storms arrive.

Winter seems to have found its way to the Pacific Northwest. I'll provide updates as more details of the developing storms are available. For current weather conditions visit www.shorelineweather.com