Freezing temperatures persist with more snow ahead for Thursday

Tuesday and Wednesday will offer a break from the snow for Western Washington, but another wet system hits late Wednesday night into Thursday morning bringing a chance for more accumulation.

Before I get to the full forecast, here are the most important things to know over the next few days…

  • Now through most of Wednesday – After this morning’s flurries, we will be mainly dry through Wednesday evening. High temps will stay below freezing.
  • Late Wednesday into Thursday morning – Another round of snow! 1-3" expected in the Puget Sound area.
  • Thursday Midday – If there’s any precip still hanging on, it will switch to rain or a rain/snow mix, although most of it will have moved on by lunch.

Morning flurries have mostly tapered off and we'll be looking at a much drier afternoon with some spots of clearing Tuesday. Temperatures will be running about six to eight degrees warmer today, with highs approaching 30 degrees around the Seattle area. Most of Wednesday will be dry as well, with plenty of sunshine. That should help break up some of the ice and snow on our roads that are in the direct sunlight. Shaded areas are going to take a lot longer to thaw out.

Another wet system approaches the Washington Coast late Wednesday and will likely bring more snow to the Puget Sound area by early Thursday morning. One to three inches is expected for most spots near the sound.

There may be some melting Thursday afternoon as temps briefly rise above freezing, but by Thursday night temperatures will plummet back into the low 20s. That could make for a very slippery morning commute on Friday (New Year's Eve).

If you're sick of the snow already, I do have some good news. Forecast model ensembles show a general warming trend starting this weekend, but below average temps will likely persist for the next couple of weeks. Notice on this latest run of the European model that temps will mainly stay above freezing starting Saturday.

We have a few days until we are "out of the woods" with this event, but hang in there. We will have you covered and get through it together! Keep checking back for the latest forecasts as timing and snow totals could change.

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