It’ll be unseasonably cold next week, but does that mean lowland snow for Whatcom?
A blast of arctic air will mean temperatures far below normal next week in the Whatcom County lowlands, and that could mean another round of snow on Sunday night, Feb. 7, and later in the week.
Until the big chill arrives, a rainy and windy weekend is forecast, with a small craft advisory for the Salish Sea and the potential for scattered power outages and dangerous avalanche conditions in the North Cascades.
No wind warnings were posted for the Bellingham area, but areas near the water could see west winds gusting to about 25 mph Friday and Saturday.
“Avalanche conditions will be very dangerous on Friday,” the National Weather Service in Seattle said in an email briefing. “Persistent slab avalanches may be very large, unsurvivable, and may release naturally or by human trigger. Avoid open slopes steeper than 30 degrees and stay away from avalanche path runout zones.”
In the lowlands, however, daytime temperatures will be in the mid- to upper 40s through Sunday, with lows in the 30s and 40s.
But all that changes Sunday night, according to the forecast from the National Weather Service in Seattle.
“Main focus for next week will be the trend toward significantly colder and likely drier conditions across Western Washington,” said meteorologist Matthew Cullen in Friday’s online forecast discussion.
“This could lead to several days of overnight low temperatures near or below freezing with Tuesday through Thursday mornings likely the coldest nights,” Cullen said.
There’s a chance of rain and snow Sunday night, but dry conditions are expected until Wednesday, Feb. 10, when there’s another chance of snow.
Little or no snow accumulation is expected Sunday, but daytime temperatures will be in the 30s, or about 5 to 10 degrees below normal, and overnight lows could drop into the 20s.
The Saturday forecast included a concern that Fraser outflow may develop around midweek, bringing gusty winds and much colder temperatures to portions of western Whatcom County.
This story was originally published February 5, 2021 at 12:04 PM.
