Seattle weather: First week of 2024 brings cool showers and mountain snow

Rain returns to the lowlands and much needed snow returns to the mountains the first week of 2024.

2023 was a warm and dry year overall. It was tied for the 9th warmest year on record at Sea-Tac and we fell over four inches short of our normal precipitation for the year. Turning the page to 2024, it looks cool and wet to start.

January typically brings more mountain snow and chilly showers to the lowlands. We slowly gain daylight and average a couple of inches of lowland snow, though that may be tougher in our current El Nino winter.

A frontal system will bring widespread rainfall to Western Washington today. The Cascade gaps and the coast could see breezy winds as well, gusting up to 35 mph. 

It has been a rough start to the ski season in the Washington Cascades. El Nino is moving along as advertised as a warmer and drier than normal winter. Snowpack levels are only about half of normal in the Puget Sound basins. The good news is that more snow is in the forecast this week.

A persistent ridge over the Pacific Northwest will shift west, opening the door to cooler, wetter systems. Those will begin dropping in from the Gulf of Alaska starting Friday. Snow levels will drop, and we will finally get fresh powder at the ski resorts this week.

The big round of snow will hit Friday into Saturday morning, but the next five days should bring one to two feet at most of the mountain resorts.

If you're looking for some dry time, this weekend looks more dry than wet. I'm still not seeing any lowland snow in the forecast, but temperatures will be cooler heading into early next week.

Weather