Lowland Whatcom sees a few snowflakes on the first day of winter. Here’s where it’s falling
Snow was falling in lowland Whatcom County on the first day of winter, but meteorologists said that no accumulation was likely around Bellingham.
Even so, several inches of snow covered areas north of Bellingham, and snowplows were clearing Interstate 5 from Bellingham north to the U.S.-Canada border.
“Officially snowing in Whatcom County,” Randy Small of Lynden tweeted at 11 a.m. Monday, Dec. 21, sharing video from followers in Point Roberts and Lynden.
Small, who manages the Whatcom County Weather page on Facebook, tweeted that he also saw large snowflakes mixed with rain on Yew Street Road in Bellingham about 10 a.m.
He live-streamed video on Facebook around noon as he drove toward Blaine on Badger Road, where big wet flakes dotted his windshield.
Snow was starting to cover the ground at the Peace Arch border crossing as temperatures fell, he said on Facebook.
Across the Georgia Strait at Nanaimo, residents tweeted photos that showed several inches of snow on the ground.
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Snow began falling in Bellingham about 3 p.m. as temperatures dipped quickly from the low 40s to around freezing.
Photos showed less than an inch on the ground, but flakes were falling quickly and roads were covered in a thin layer of white.
“We’ve got snow in downtown B-ham everybody,” Bellingham Fire Department said on it Facebook page. “Please drive carefully. You can help by increasing your following distance and turning on your headlights.”
Officials at the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office Division of Emergency Management also urged caution.
“While most of the snow is melting on road surfaces where there is traffic, temperatures will begin dropping and accumulations of slush on roads may take place,” emergency management said at its website.
Any lowland snow that accumulates Monday likely will melt soon because weather forecasts Tuesday through Thursday call for partly sunny skies and temperatures in the low 40s.
And it was snowing gangbusters in the Mount Baker wilderness, ensuring fine conditions for winter sports enthusiasts as schools began their two-week holiday break Monday.
Mary Butwin at the National Weather Service in Seattle said the chance of snow around Bellingham depends on a warm front coming from the south and cold north winds blowing from Canada.
Any lowland snow likely would be mixed with rain and might stick on lawns but not roads, because temperatures were well above freezing, she said.
Environment Canada was reporting rain at 11 .a.m. Monday at Abbotsford, B.C., north of Lynden, with mixed rain and snow forecast for Monday night.
Lowland snow is rare but not unheard of in the Bellingham area, Butwin said.
Average snowfall for the date is 0.1 inch, and the record is 2.3 inches on the first day of winter in 1964.
Meanwhile, the North Cascades was under a winter storm watch Monday, with up to 2 feet of snow forecast for the Mount Baker area.
And heavy rain was falling in the Whatcom County lowlands, leading to a threat of landslides.
A total of 1..44 inches of precipitation had fallen by 4 p.m. Monday as measured at Bellingham International Airport.
The record for the date is 1.44 inches in 1972.
Further, gusty south winds were possible for Monday afternoon and evening as the storm continued.
Peak gusts were expected in the 30-40 mph range, with some as high as 50 mph.
Flooding concerns have eased, however, and the Nooksack River at Ferndale was expected to crest Tuesday, Dec. 22, well below flood stage, according to online data at the Northwest River Forecast Center.
Avalanche danger was “considerable” in the Mount Baker backcountry, according to the Northwest Avalanche Center.
Mt. Baker Ski Area was reporting mixed snow and rain at its website, with 5 inches of snow since Sunday morning.
This story was originally published December 21, 2020 at 11:57 AM.
