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Colder temps closer to Christmas
Sunday will be the only dry day for several days. FOX 13 forecaster Erin Mayovsky has the latest forecast
Seattle - Happy weekend all! The next weather maker is going to make our Saturday pretty sloppy from the coast to eastern WA before it slides south early Sunday.
By mid-morning Saturday, rain will become widespread in the lowlands with snow blanketing the Cascades. Look for pounding water on slide streets and some highways with compact snow and ice over the passes.
With this system, we have several alerts to talk about, especially for the high country. A "Winter Weather Advisory" will remain in effect for the Olympics and for most the eastern slopes of the Cascades and as far east of Ferry, Lincoln, and Spokane Counties. Travel through these areas will be difficult at times as anywhere from three inches to a couple of feet could fall.
There is also a "Winter Storm Watch" in effect for the southern Cascades Saturday. We're forecasting half a foot to a foot of snow for that area.
And finally, a "Winter Storm Warning" stays in effect through early Sunday morning for up to 28" of snow. Heaviest amounts will fall to the north at Mt. Baker with lesser amounts for the central and southern areas. This will make driving very dangerous at times through the Cascades. Not only will the snow be heavy at times, the winds will gust up to 40mph reducing visibilities.
We may even see some freezing rain over Snoqualmie Pass. Make sure you know the roads before you travel and be prepared.
As the front continues to pump rain over Western WA, the heaviest amounts will happen Saturday afternoon into the early evening hours.
To add to the situation winds will become gusty for all at times, but more so along the coast and North Sound where a "Wind Advisory" stays in effect through Saturday afternoon for southerlies 20-35mph, gusting up to 50 at times.
Even stronger winds kick up through the Admiralty Inlet area and San Juan County. And this is why a "High Wind Warning" is up through 4pm Saturday too. We're forecasting sustained winds 30-45mph, gusting to 60.
Impacts: Downed trees and power lines. Some of us could see widespread power outages.
We dry out Sunday with cooler highs, only landing in the low 40s.
Monday will be chilly! Highs drop into the mid to upper 30s. And we may have some moisture left over, especially to the south where some of us could see snow falling before we run precipitation tapers off.
Next round of lowland rain and mountain snow comes Tuesday night into Wednesday with generally light accumulations. Highs land in the low to mid 40s.
Thursday into early Christmas Eve looks dry at this point. There may be some mixing of showers late Friday into Christmas morning. Stay tuned!
Have a great weekend all! ~Erin Mayovsky, FOX 13 Forecaster
*Odds of a White Christmas…..