Arctic air has arrived in Whatcom — how long will it stick around and is snow possible?
A bitterly cold week lies ahead for lowland Whatcom County residents, with daytime temperatures hovering in the high 30s — or about 10 degrees below normal for early February.
At least a dusting of snow is possible Tuesday night, Feb. 9, and more could fall later this week, but significant accumulation isn’t expected for now.
Light snow was falling in parts of Bellingham and in Sudden Valley about 11 a.m. Monday, Feb. 8, with a temperature of 37 degrees and light northeast winds.
Harsh northeast winds on Thursday, Feb. 11, could cause power outages as wind chills plummet to around 0 degrees.
Winds will gust to 30-35 mph on Wednesday and 40 mph on Thursday, said Jake DeFlitch, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Seattle.
“It will stay breezy at times, but the strongest winds (will be) starting Wednesday,” DeFlitch told The Bellingham Herald. “It will be pretty blustery.”
Whatcom County’s big chill is part of a winter weather phenomenon called the Fraser Outflow — where polar air barrels through the Fraser River Valley east of Vancouver, B.C., and blows directly at Whatcom, Skagit and San Juan counties.
Wednesday and Thursday will be the coldest days.
“Wind chills definitely look to drop into the single digits near zero,” DeFlitch said. “It can happen each winter, sometimes more than once.”
Temperatures look to moderate somewhat by the weekend, and meteorologists are looking at the possibility of more lowland snow later this week as a storm system approaches.
Officials with the city of Bellingham and Whatcom County did not respond to The Bellingham Herald’s requests for comment Monday regarding whether the city or county would be opening emergency weather shelters for people who are homeless.
In a Bellingham City Council meeting Monday, the Health Department’s Anne Deacon said that no special cold weather shelters will be available this winter because of the new coronavirus pandemic and because more shelter beds are available.
Deacon said more than 500 total beds are available throughout the system, including Base Camp, an overflow shelter, tiny home encampments and motel vouchers.
This story was originally published February 8, 2021 at 12:20 PM.
