Like a game of cat and mouse, the recent cold air seems like it hasn’t quite been able to catch the moisture in Seattle quick enough for substantial snow.
Moisture arrives, cold air is on the horizon, snow predictors shout and holler, the city braces … but the moisture is halfway out the door as the cold air arrives! Cue trace snow in Seattle and the sighs of disappointment or relief — the pattern will largely repeat this week.
A showery and unseasonably cool rhythm continued across Western Washington on Tuesday, bringing rain showers during the day and chances of lowland snow in the early morning hours.
Snow elevations hovered slightly above sea level Tuesday morning, and those near water and with little elevation did not see accumulating snow. By the afternoon, most areas transitioned to a rain or rain-snow mix.
Other areas across the lowlands, especially north of Snohomish County and south past Olympia, received a dusting of snow, although accumulations were spotty depending on elevation and the showery nature of the precipitation, NWS said.
Rain showers did not accumulate beyond a drizzle Tuesday afternoon in the Seattle metro area.
Those in the Seattle area can expect to begin a rinse and repeat cycle of this week’s weather pattern — highs warmed to the lower 40s, melting any remaining snow on the ground.
The Cascades are expected to pick up 3 to 7 inches of snow Wednesday, freshening up the slopes for any midweek mountain runs, according to the weather service.
On Wednesday, conditions will dry out just in time for the first day of meteorological spring, although highs will remain several degrees below normal.
“We’re going to get a little break” from the active weather, meteorologist Dana Felton said. Wednesday should be partly sunny with highs in the lower to mid-40s.
The dry spell will be short-lived as another system brings rain Wednesday night into Thursday.
Snow elevations will be low early Thursday, but not down to sea level, so cold rain will likely fall throughout the Seattle metro area while the foothills could see some snow accumulation, the weather service said.
Temperatures will once again warm into the 40s on Thursday, ridding the earth of any remaining snow.
The next weather system will bring heavy mountain snow Wednesday night through Friday, mainly affecting the mountain passes.
Friday will bring another cool air mass to Western Washington, although temperatures will not be as low as earlier in the week, Felton said.
“The snow levels late at night and in the early morning hours are going to be around 500 feet, but the precipitation is going to be hit-and-miss showers, so can’t totally rule it out,” he said.
The weather service said online “this pattern is pretty stagnant,” with no real end in sight for marginal lowland snow chances.
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