Snow unlikely Christmas Day in Bellingham

Bellingham residents shouldn’t get their hopes up for a white Christmas this year.

National Weather Service meteorologist Art Gaebel said it’s “pretty unlikely” that the Bellingham area will get snow on Christmas. And even if there is snow later this week, it probably will be mixed with rain.

Leading up to the holiday, the forecast should look familiar for those living in western Whatcom County: cloudy, rainy, and high temperatures of around 40 degrees.

The chance of precipitation in Bellingham through Tuesday, Dec. 22, is 80 percent. The NWS estimates less than an inch of rain in the area from Monday night through Tuesday.

The chance of rain showers will drop to 40 percent Wednesday and Thursday. On Christmas Day, the forecast calls for partly sunny skies with a high temperature in the upper 30s, and a slight chance of rain and snow showers.

The mountains, on the other hand, have snow in the forecast every day this week. Mount Baker could get up to 3 feet of snow from Monday through Wednesday, according to the weather service.

Mt. Baker Ski Area, with already the highest amount of snow in North America, received 40 more inches of new snow since Thursday, Dec. 17, according to its snow report. The base was up to 109 inches at Heather Meadows and 151 inches at Pan Dome as of Monday morning.

The snow in the Cascades could make it difficult for travelers wanting to make it across the mountains for the holiday. Snoqualmie Pass was closed eastbound Monday afternoon, and chains were required on all vehicles except ones with all-wheel drive for drivers going west.

Snow showers were likely over the pass through Thursday, but there is only a slight chance of snow showers Christmas Day, should the forecast hold.

And as Gaebel pointed out, the forecast for Christmas Day could always change.

This story was originally published December 21, 2015 at 1:55 PM with the headline "Snow unlikely Christmas Day in Bellingham."