Downtown Seattle on a rainy day.
Seattle waterfront – fall 202o.
SEATTLE, WA – NOVEMBER 3: The downtown skyline is shrouded in rain and clouds on November 3, 2015, in Seattle, Washington. Seattle, located in King County, is the largest city in the Pacific Northwest, and is experiencing an economic boom as a result of its European and Asian global business connections. (Photo by George Rose/Getty Images)
After another shot of snow Wednesday night, the Western Washington lowlands look to be in for a potentially long-term break from the wintry weather.
The National Weather Service in Seattle predicts more rain through Friday, but expects that to dry up over the weekend.
“A warm front will stall over the area today and tonight, bringing rain, heavy at times, and milder temperatures,” the weather service said in its Thursday forecast discussion. “A trailing cold front will arrive on Friday with showers decreasing. An upper ridge will bring mostly dry weather this weekend.”
Radar update: snow has now changed to rain for pretty much all of the lowlands. It’s still cold enough for snow over Western Whatcom County but precip has end up there for now. Rain over the south half of the area should shift north again today. #wawx pic.twitter.com/oZF8gUeJ59
That dry weather won’t last through the early portion of next week, but with temperatures warming, that precipitation likely won’t turn to snow in the lowlands. Some areas in the foothills of the Cascade Range could see some flakes Saturday, but little to no accumulation is expected.
For next week, the weather service expects a mix of rain and dry weather through Wednesday. If the forecast holds, Western Washington could go nearly a week without snow.
Locally heavy rain will continue into the early morning before tapering off to showers on Friday. If you’re near a river in a region covered by existing flood watches or warnings, continue to monitor flood statements and be ready to act if necessary. #wawx pic.twitter.com/gyEwRDQn4y
In the meantime, residents of the south Sound and the those living in southwest sections of the interior should watch for floods. The heavy rainfall, combined with snowmelt, could lead to flooding in “numerous” area rivers, the weather service said. Most of that flooding will likely occur Thursday night, the weather service said.
Our 8 AM temperature is the warmest we’ve seen since December 22nd. I’m not sure if those are tears in my eyes or just rain from checking the gauge on the roof.#wawx pic.twitter.com/eNf1k6YwPV
On a brighter note, we’re seeing relief from the bitingly cold temperatures we experienced over the last week. The weather service said Thursday’s 8 a.m. temperature was the warmest the region has seen since Dec. 22. The daytime high in Seattle was 50 degrees. If it had been 51 degrees, Thursday would have been the warmest day in month.
“The warm front we expected is making progress northward over the area,” the weather service said in a Thursday tweet. “Seattle jumped 8 degrees in 35 minutes with its arrival.”
While the situation seems to be improving for the lowlands — depending on your perspective, sorry snow fans — the Cascades are in for another round of snow. The weather service expects another foot of snow to accumulate by the end of Thursday.
That’s on top of the more than 20 feet of snow that have fallen in the mountains since November. The state Department of Transportation announced Monday that Snoqualmie Pass has seen the more snowfall this season than it has in the last 20 years.
Extreme weather has created conditions so hazardous that it’s too dangerous for our crews to be in the mountain pass areas. Because of that, Snoqualime, Stevens, White & Blewett passes will not reopen until at least Friday & possibly not until Saturday. (1/6) pic.twitter.com/Nj13e9Y6TW
The heavy snow that’s blanketed the mountain range this week resulted in Snoqualmie, White, Stevens and Blewett passes being closed Wednesday night. And they remained closed late Thursday. The state Department of Transportation expects to have them open by Friday or possibly Saturday.
The agency said the passes will remain closed through Thursday night because “large snow drifts, avalanche danger, falling trees and large amounts of snow on signs” make conditions too hazardous for crews to clear them.
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Alec Regimbal is a reporter for the SeattlePI.
