SEATTLE — There are just three days until Christmas…let the travel rush begin!
In those three days, three weather disturbances will swing through western Washington, with Christmas Eve’s potentially being the strongest.
Each system will bring its own blend of lowland rain, mountain snow and gusty winds.
The first is Monday with showers building during the afternoon with 1/4″ to 1/2 ” of rain during the evening. Snow will also build during Monday evening over the Cascades. Conditions over the passes, including Snoqualmie, will likely get slippery Monday night through Tuesday morning.
Winds have already started picking up, with 40 mph gusts on North Whidbey Island before noon. Afternoon conditions will be gusty over the islands, the coast, and around Bellingham and Mount Vernon.
Showers and wind will break up overnight, and a pause in the storm systems calms us down Tuesday. Not a bad day to get on the road or cross the mountain passes…the evening either.
Overnight into Wednesday the second system builds. Snow returns falling over the Cascade mountain passes well before sunrise and off and on bursts of the white stuff will likely keep passes snowy through early afternoon on Wednesday causing tricky pass travel conditions in that time frame.
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Plan on rain in the lowlands on Christmas Eve morning breaking up for the evening.
The big issue is how strong the winds get. A strong pocket of winds is forecast to develop for the afternoon on Wednesday. With it, a potential for 50+ mph gusts. The uncertainty comes with how strong this low-pressure area will be and the exact track it will take and where it distributes the strongest wind.
Either way, the winds that do develop will diminish by Christmas morning, leaving behind a few showers that fall off and on through the day.
It’ll translate to more mountain snow at the passes on Christmas day with the weather quieting down Friday afternoon and Saturday for driving home.
