White Christmas and Arctic Plunge Possible
SEATTLE - Believe it or not -- Western Washington could be in for a white Christmas! We're also tracking a major plunge in temperatures starting on Monday.
Highs may only lift to the mid to upper 20s. Prepare for the frigid weather and stay tuned as we track this complicated and interesting forecast.
Mountain snow will be a problem along the passes almost every day through Sunday. A Winter Storm Warning is in effect until 4 p.m. Thursday for the Cascades and Olympics above 3,000 feet. Anywhere from 5-15 inches of snow is possible for the passes. I'm expecting road conditions to really worsen after midnight or 1 a.m. Thursday. Make sure to check WSDOT conditions before you travel.
A Coastal Flood Advisory remains in effect for Puget Sound until 7 a.m. Friday. Minor tidal overflow could be an issue. There's also a Flood Warning posted for the Skokomish River in Mason County through Thursday evening. Minor flooding is possible there.
It'll be blustery overnight in the lower elevations with gusts reaching 20-35 mph as a cold front marches through Western Washington. It may stay slightly breezy Thursday as well. Widespread, soaking rain is possible for a few hours overnight into Thursday morning. After the cold front pushes out of our region by 1 a.m., a convergence zone could still dump heavy lowland rain and mountain snow tomorrow (especially in parts of King, Snohomish and Skagit Counties). Thursday will be mostly cloudy with a few sunbreaks.
Highs tomorrow and Friday (Christmas Eve) will reach the low 40s. In some of the showers both Thursday and Friday, there may be a rain/snow mix in some of the lower elevations. Any snow accumulation would probably just be light, brief and isolated -- not to mention likely melting quickly. However, as temps plummet early Christmas morning, I can't rule out the snow from sticking to the ground in a few lowland or foothill neighborhoods. There's a better possibility for snow sticking to the ground sometime Christmas afternoon or evening. Light snow totals in the lowlands are possible through Sunday the 26th.
We know Christmas weekend will be cold; highs will only reach the mid to upper 30s on Christmas...dropping to the low 30s for Sunday the 26th. While we're confident this weekend will be frigid, there's less certainty about the timing, totals and impacts from any snow totals. Right now, forecast models are suggesting a couple inches of snow on the ground by Sunday night, but stick with us -- this forecast is very fluid.
Beginning Monday, temps plunge even further. Highs may only reach the mid to upper 20s through at least Wednesday. Overnight lows could drop to the teens. Just like with the snow forecast, there are still some question marks about how cold it will get here in Western Washington -- and how long the cold air may stick around.
Hope you catch FOX 13 tonight!
Take care,
Meteorologist Abby Acone
Follow me on Twitter @abbyacone, Instagram @abbyaconewx and Facebook