The Coldest Air in Years Will Hit Western Washington

Sunday Snow Update at noon Saturday
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This is a lot of discussion about snow, but there is something we should keep firmly in mind:  the arctic air that is going to reach western Washington will be the coldest in years.  Backed by strong winds in some areas, this cold will not only test our housing infrastructure (freezing pipes), but will be life threatening to those living outside or for the unprepared in higher terrain.


Take a look at the latest National Weather Service ensemble temperature forecast for Seattle-Tacoma Airport.  The solid line is the average of all the many forecasts (the gray lines) and the blue is the single high-resolution forecast. 

Wow.  The highs on Tuesday (14th), will only get in the mid-20s, with lows that morning in the teens.

The excellent weather.com (IBM) forecasts suggest a high of 29F that day (see below).

And the European Center forecast is going for highs of mid-20sF for both Tuesday and Wednesday (with lows around 20F).


You can have a lot of confidence in the fact it will be very cold on Tuesday and Wednesday over the western lowlands.  

You thought last February was cold?  This is going to be colder.   In fact, we may experience the coldest temperatures in at LEAST six years.   

According to my colleagues in the National Weather Service, the last time Seattle had a high temperature below 30F was in February 6, 2014.   And one has to go back to November 23, 2010 to get a high temperature of 25F.

And if you think Seattle is bad, is will be FAR worse in Bellingham and NW Washington, which will be exposed to the strong, cold outflow winds from the Fraser River Valley.    According to weather.com, Bellingham will have a high of 20F and low of 15F, while the European Center model is going for a high in the low teens and lows in the single digits.


And then there are the winds!  According to the high-resolution models, northeasterly winds, with gusts to 40-60 mph, will hit NW Washington, resulting in wind chills below zero.   

So no matter what snow falls, the cold is going to be a big part of the story.  

Disconnect exterior hoses on homes and apartments, get pets inside, and most important of all, the greatly increased homeless population of our region needs to be brought indoors.  Next week could be a killer.




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