Here comes the snow... and the wind... and the cold... prepare for a wintery week
We in western Washington are sure in for it today:
Temperatures are forecast to fall as the day progresses. The thermometer has already fallen to 28° F in Redmond and is on its way down to 26° F. Tonight's low will be 21° F, according to the NWS. What that means, of course, is that none of the snow on the ground is going anywhere.
It's been slow going out on the highways this morning. Many are still jammed full of traffic as of 10 AM, including State Route 520, which is backed up into Overlake. Northbound I-5 through much of Seattle is also a real mess. Metro is on snow routing; that decision was prudently made last night, and appears to be paying off. Sound Transit has also made some adjustments to a couple of its Express routes. Collisions are responsible for some of the slow traffic.
Best advice? Don't go out if you have to, and if you do, drive extra defensively. Don't plan on getting anywhere in a hurry. The commute tonight looks like it might be a repeat of the infamous evening of horror from four years ago.
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN SEATTLE HAS ISSUED A WINTER STORM WARNING FOR THE SEATTLE...TACOMA...EVERETT METRO AREAS INCLUDING THE HOOD CANAL AREA...THE KITSAP PENINSULA AND THE EASTERN PUGET SOUND LOWLANDS FOR HEAVY SNOW...WHICH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 PM PST THISIt might be a good idea to leave work early today.
EVENING. THE WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR THIS AREA IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT.
SOME AFFECTED LOCATIONS... EVERETT... GOLD BAR... SEATTLE... NORTH BEND... BREMERTON... SHELTON... TACOMA... AND ENUMCLAW.
TIMING...BANDS OF SNOW WILL INCREASE THROUGH THE EARLY AFTERNOON AND CONTINUE INTO THE EVENING HOURS. THE SNOW WILL END LATER THIS EVENING FROM THE NORTH... BUT SOME DRIFTING OF THE SNOW LIKELY TONIGHT AS NORTHERLY WINDS INCREASE TO 20 TO 30 MPH AND GUSTS TO 40 MPH.
ACCUMULATIONS...EXPECT 2 TO 6 INCH AMOUNTS. SNOWFALL ACCUMULATIONS WILL BE QUITE VARIABLE AROUND THE AREA WITH HEAVIEST AMOUNTS OCCURRING CLOSER TO THE CASCADE FOOTHILLS AND IN LOCALIZED BANDS AROUND THE CENTRAL PUGET SOUND AREA.
WIND...LIGHT AND VARIABLE WINDS THROUGH MID AFTERNOON WILL BECOME NORTH AND INCREASE TO 20 TO 30 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 40 MPH THIS EVENING. THE GUSTY NORTH WINDS TONIGHT WILL CAUSE SOME BLOWING AND DRIFTING OF THE SNOW. THE COMBINATION OF THE STRONG WIND AND TEMPERATURES FALLING INTO THE LOWER 20S WILL GIVE WIND CHILL VALUES OF 0 TO 10 DEGREES ABOVE ZERO TONIGHT.
IMPACT...GUSTY WINDS NEAR 40 MPH COULD RESULT IN LOCAL POWER OUTAGES...THUS CONSIDER ALTERNATE...BUT SAFE...SOURCES OF HEAT IN CASE THIS OCCURS. OTHERWISE MAKE SURE YOU HAVE PLENTY OF EXTRA WARM CLOTHING OR BLANKETS.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
A WINTER STORM WARNINGS MEANS SEVERE WINTER WEATHER IS OCCURRING OR IMMINENT. THOSE PLANNING TRAVEL IN THE WARNED AREA SHOULD BE PREPARED FOR HAZARDOUS...WINTER DRIVING CONDITIONS AND PLAN ACCORDINGLY.
Temperatures are forecast to fall as the day progresses. The thermometer has already fallen to 28° F in Redmond and is on its way down to 26° F. Tonight's low will be 21° F, according to the NWS. What that means, of course, is that none of the snow on the ground is going anywhere.
It's been slow going out on the highways this morning. Many are still jammed full of traffic as of 10 AM, including State Route 520, which is backed up into Overlake. Northbound I-5 through much of Seattle is also a real mess. Metro is on snow routing; that decision was prudently made last night, and appears to be paying off. Sound Transit has also made some adjustments to a couple of its Express routes. Collisions are responsible for some of the slow traffic.
Best advice? Don't go out if you have to, and if you do, drive extra defensively. Don't plan on getting anywhere in a hurry. The commute tonight looks like it might be a repeat of the infamous evening of horror from four years ago.
# Posted by Andrew : 10:07 AM
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