Rainy weekend ahead for Seattle area before freezing temps return

Though the Seattle area saw some springlike weather this past week, winter isn’t over.

Coming up is a wet weekend with wind, rain and snow in the mountains. And after that, cold winds from the north will drop temperatures back down into the 20s next week.

The rain will start Saturday afternoon or evening and will last through at least Sunday, said meteorologist Jake DeFlitch. But it won’t be the heavy kind that brings flooding and landslides, he said.

While the mountains and passes could see up to 20 inches of snow, the Seattle area will get our typical old-school rain with showers and drizzles in the lowlands and winds with gusts up to 35 mph, he said.

While it will feel like a normal rainy Puget Sound weekend for most, DeFlitch advises folks traveling over the passes to be mindful of the conditions.

That’s good news for the mountains and the snowpacks, said DeFlitch, especially since we’ve otherwise had the second driest start to February in 78 years, with only .31 inches recorded at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport through Feb. 16.

Monday will be drizzly as well, though it should start to taper off in the afternoon, said DeFlitch.

But once that system clears out, a northerly wind will bring cold air from the Fraser River Valley into Western Washington, dropping temperatures across the region into the low-to-mid 20s, he said.

By Thursday and Friday, temperatures will rise a bit — to the upper 20s and low 30s, but it’s going to feel cold, especially after the warmer temperatures we’ve had this week, he said.

So, yeah. Not spring yet. But don’t lose heart. It’s coming. Really.