Winter storm warning for Whatcom promises ‘a challenging commute’ Wednesday
Whatcom County’s weather situation took a turn for the worse Tuesday as meteorologists at the National Weather Service in Seattle said residents could see more snow and stronger winds than previously forecast.
The weather service’s 9:15 p.m. update said snow will continue to push north toward the Canadian border by the morning hours, resulting in a challenging commute likely for areas that see snow.
Both a winter storm warning and a high wind watch were in effect Tuesday night and Wednesday, with up to 3 inches of new snow in the next 24 hours and winds of 25 to 40 mph, gusting to 60 mph, on Wednesday.
The Weather Service’s 5 p.m. update Tuesday warned of wind chills overnight dipping into single digits below zero with gusts 15-25 mph in western Whatcom County.
“This is a rapidly evolving forecast,” the weather service said in an email to reporters.
Moderate to heavy snow is expected to start about 8 p.m., forecasters said.
It’s all happening as wet Pacific storms collide with a blast of arctic air that’s roaring south from Canada and enveloping the entire Puget Sound region in a blanket of white.
Temperatures are expected to warm gradually from Wednesday afternoon through Friday and snow will change to rain, forecasters in Seattle said.
But for now, freezing temperatures and sub-zero wind chills will remain.
It’s so cold that salt and brine is no longer effective on roads, city and county public works officials said.
“Sunday’s rains switched over to snow and we have lots of compact snow and ice that has bonded to the pavement on secondary and neighborhood roads,” said Joe Rutan, Whatcom County engineer and assistant director of public works.
He said that made roads in some rural areas are particularly difficult to clear with the county’s 22 trucks.
“Plows have difficulty breaking this bond and as mentioned, it’s too cold for salt,” Rutan said in an email. “As always, slow down, increase following distance, be patient.”
A city of Bellingham news release Tuesday afternoon said that in the last 48 hours, using five large sanders and plows and three small trucks with sanders and plows, Public Works placed approximately 300 tons of salt, 200 tons of sand and 16,000 gallons of salt brine over more than 700 lane miles of the main snow response routes.
Crews are working around the clock, said Rutan and Mike Olinger, supervisor of maintenance for Bellingham public works.
“We will continue to monitor the weather and conditions and modify operations as conditions evolve,” Olinger said in an email.
Tuesday’s weather canceled or delayed classes at several area school districts.
Some city meetings were canceled, but Tuesday night’s session of the Whatcom County Council was continuing as scheduled.
Daytime temperatures in the mid-20s were forecast for Tuesday with sunny skies, but the temperature at Bellingham International Airport fell from 18 at 1 a.m. to 15 at 8:30 a.m.
Winds were out of the northeast at 20 mph and gusting to 25 mph, with sub-zero wind chills.
A call went over the emergency radio channels seeking a complete plowing of airport runways after an eighth of an inch had accumulated. No flight delays were reported at the Port of Bellingham website, however.
About 400 Puget Sound Energy customers were without power early Tuesday, mostly in the Lake Samish area and Peaceful Valley north of Kendall.
Mount Baker Highway was open with compact snow and ice on the road at 4,250 feet. Chains were required on two-wheel-drive cars.
Mt. Baker Ski Area was open with nearly 3 feet of snow in the past two days.
Avalanche conditions were “considerable” in the Mount Baker wildness backcountry, according to the Northwest Avalanche Center.
Did you get a great photo of the snow you’d like to share? Upload it to bhamherald.com/submit-photo.
This story was originally published January 14, 2020 at 1:58 PM with the headline "Winter storm warning for Whatcom promises ‘a challenging commute’ Wednesday."
