Winter storm underway in the Coast Range and Cascades

Good morning! Today is a First Alert Weather Day for the Cascades & the Coast Range to highlight the significant winter weather in the forecast. It’s also going to be a pretty active day in weather across the lowlands west of the Cascades. Showers are passing through the region this morning, with pretty steady snow falling above 1,000 feet. Temperatures have dropped into the 30s across the lowest elevations, so some of you will see mixed showers or wet snow this A.M. Once we start to get some daytime heating, our air will turn a bit more unstable. This will help support the development of downpours and hail showers. A few thunderstorms can’t be ruled out either. Some of the heavier downpours could briefly lower our snow level, but temperatures in the 40s later today means sticking snow will stay confined to elevations near & above 1,500 feet.

Temperatures will cool down a bit more tonight, dropping the snow level to about 500 feet or so. Any showers around early Saturday could lead to dustings in our local hills, and heavier showers could bring wet snow down to the valley floor. Roads should remain in pretty good shape across the lowest elevations, and will just be wet after sunrise.

A Winter Storm Warning is posted for the Coast Range & the Cascades due to a lot of snow coming in a short period of time. Be prepared for snowy roads, especially during the coolest times of the day. Snowfall rates near one inch per hour will lead to lower visibility and tough travel conditions. Take it slow and have traction devices ready to go if you plan to travel in the mountains. Between today & Saturday, elevations near 1,500 ft. in the Coast Range will pick up about 5-8 inches of new snow. Expect lower amounts below that elevation. The Cascades will get even more snow, with 1- 2+ feet of snow possible above 2,000 ft., and about 5-10 inches between 1,000-2,000 feet.

Showers should gradually wind down on Sunday, leading to a dry start to next week. In fact, our weather is shaping up to be pretty nice! Expect to see quite a bit of sunshine with high temperatures returning to the upper 50s and low 60s.

Have a great Friday!

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