Near-record warmth hits Seattle 76 years after only zero-degree day

Seattle weather: wet and warmer weekend ahead

FOX 13 meteorologist Ilona McCauley has your forecast for the weekend.

SEATTLE - Decades ago, Seattle saw its first, and only, day with a recorded temperature of zero degrees Fahrenheit. While a brutal arctic freeze hit the Emerald City on Jan. 31, 1950, today we saw the city reach a near record high. 

Seattle area residents enjoyed an unusually mild winter's day on Jan. 31, 2026. Temperatures are forecast to hit just under 60 degrees. With 59 degrees expected at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, we are just shy of the 61 degree record set in 1960. 

The backstory:

Some 76 years after generations past dealt with an unprecedented cold, residents in western Washington will get to enjoy the day in city sites not even in the forethought of those living in the area during the winter of 1950.

Ice on the Sound in Jan. 1950 at Clinton terminal. It was known as Columbia Beach back then. (Source: Washington State Ferries)

Seattle has had no snow for the 2025-2026 winter so far, creating challenges for Washington ski resorts, but during the 1950 storms, fresh snow lined the streets and rooftops the Evergreen State. 

The Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI) posted photos from the wintry event's 75th anniversary. Busses and residents waded through slushy streets after 10 inches of snow fell downtown in just one day, with more than 20 inches at the airport. This was on Jan. 13, 1950, and the cold only stuck around. 

Two weeks later, the city would record its first zero-degree day, with snow still piled up across town. The high temperature would get to 20° that day, but then plummet to the second coldest temperature ever recorded of 1° on the morning of February 1.

The coldest temperature recorded in Seattle, zero degrees, was recorded on Jan. 31, 1950

Dig deeper:

Green Lake and parts of Gig Harbor were frozen over. There were even icy spots on Puget Sound. Single digit temperatures are difficult to achieve in the greater Seattle area. The last time we did it was in 1989, when Seattle hit 7°.

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