Whatcom is going to stay chilly for awhile, but will it mean more lowland snow?
Chilly weather will stick around Whatcom County for the next week or so, meaning any precipitation that falls could mean snow for lowland areas.
That includes the hills around Bellingham and possibly down to sea level, said Courtney Carpenter, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Seattle.
At least a dusting of snow is expected Saturday night and Sunday, “maybe an inch or two. It depends on the timing,” Carpenter told The Bellingham Herald Wednesday, Jan. 20.
Snow might accumulate on roads or it might only stick in yards and on trees, Carpenter said.
Carpenter said snowfall that light could melt during the day as temperatures warm, but it’s too soon to tell.
Cold air is blowing south from British Columbia, and temperatures through next week should be about 5 degrees colder than normal — with daytime highs around 40 and overnight lows around freezing, she said.
Forecasters with Environment Canada are predicting light snow or a rain-snow mix overnight from Saturday night through Tuesday night in Abbotsford, B.C., just north of Lynden.
On Sunday, flurries or drizzle is forecast during the day, Environment Canada said online.
“That’s always the tricky part when it hasn’t been that cold,” Carpenter said. “It’s a little hard to predict those snowfall rates so far in advance.”
Meanwhile, winds out of the northeast — a weak but crisp Fraser Outflow — will keep temperatures colder than they were during the first half of January, which saw 11 days above 50 degrees and two days with record high temperatures.
“It’s certainly a swift change for what we’ve been seeing, but not out of the ordinary for this time of year,” Carpenter said.
Chances for snow continue into Wednesday of next week, meteorologist Justin Pullin said Thursday, Jan. 21, in the National Weather Service’s online forecast discussion.
“We are not expecting an influx of arctic air across the region at this time. Therefore, the forecast is not a slam dunk for the lowlands by any stretch of the imagination,” Pullin said.
“Current guidance suggests that the lowest snow levels will not be in line with the bulk of the precipitation moving across the region,” he said. “(But) this is something to keep an eye on as this could change. At this time, it is unknown if any pockets of moderate to heavy precipitation could introduce dynamic cooling into the mix where snow levels could be temporarily forced lower in pockets of heavier precipitation.
“These finer details will start to come into focus as we get closer to the event.”
Weekend forecast
▪ Friday: Sunny with highs in the low to mid-40s. Clear at night with a low around 30.
▪ Saturday: Sunny with highs in the low to mid-40s. Cloudy at night with a chance of rain or snow after 4 a.m. and a low around 34.
▪ Sunday: Rain and snow likely before 10 a.m. with a high around 42. Cloudy at night with a chance of rain before 4 a.m., turning to rain or snow. Low around 34.
