SNOQUALMIE PASS, Wash. — “Weather whiplash” is on deck the next 24 hours: we’ll go from two weeks straight of too warm, wet, and windy and make a quick turn into cool, wet, and windy as we round the corner from Tuesday to Wednesday; the transition there will be a bumpy ride.
In the short term, the last round of atmospheric river-driven precipitation is coming in now. It was an extra tough Tuesday evening commute, with blustery south winds and sheets of moderate rain making for low visibility and the need to dodge standing water.
RELATED: Western Washington braces for another storm as heavy rain threatens more flooding havoc
It was also necessary to keep two hands on the steering wheel, especially across our east-west-oriented bridges like the Narrows, as gusty southwesterly winds started ramping up to over 30 mph in the metro area.
The winds will continue to increase overnight, with a high wind warning in place for many of us. The southwesterlies will howl upwards of 50 mph into Wednesday morning.
Tree damage and power outages are likely, especially because the ground is so waterlogged that entire trees can uproot and come down. The landslide risk will remain elevated, too, as the continued rain and wind continue to destabilize the hillsides.
In the mountains, we’re beginning with heavy rain to 6,000′, but that snow level will plunge overnight behind this powerful, wet and gusty cold front. It will slam down to only 2,500′ by dawn, allowing heavy, wet, blowing snow to pile up at the passes.
BLIZZARD WARNING
A rare blizzard warning is in place through Wednesday in the mountains, as the blowing snow will make for treacherous high country travel. The volcanic peaks will pick up two feet of snow through Wednesday night, and even the bare slopes of Snoqualmie Pass should see nearly a foot of winter white.
Wednesday itself will be much more typical for late December. We’ll see the rain give way to showers and sunbreaks, and with cool air finally in place, highs will top out in the seasonable mid-40s around the Sound. The heavy snow will turn more showery in the Cascades by the afternoon, and pass travel should improve again as the day goes on.
Wet weather stays with us at times into the weekend, but highs will stay mainly in the 40s in the lowlands from here on out. This will allow for rounds of mountain snow, quickly building back the snowpack that was missing in action most of the month.
The cool down will also ease the pressure on our area rivers, with the lingering flood warnings on waterways like the Skagit and Cedar finally expiring later this week.
Winter begins officially on Sunday morning, and thereafter, Christmas isn’t far behind! Let’s hope all is calm and all is bright by then.
