Whatcom got a dusting of snow, and more is on the way. When should it arrive?
Chances for snow in lowland Whatcom County improved as a pair of weather systems approached and arctic air continued to embrace Western Washington along with fierce northeast winds Thursday, Feb. 11.
Those winds are drying the air and pushing most of the snow to the south Puget Sound, forecasters said.
About a half-inch to an inch of snow fell overnight Wednesday across much of Whatcom County, according to observations and tweets from the National Weather Service in Seattle and other social media reports.
And more is on the way to start the long Presidents Day weekend.
“The first in a two-part series of weather systems will be arriving (Thursday) to bring a chance for snow to much of Western Washington,” meteorologist Madelyn Kristell said in the weather service’s online forecast discussion.
“Impactful accumulations of 3-6 inches will be possible, primarily for the southwest interior and portions of south Puget Sound.,” Kristell said.
Scattered flurries continued Thursday morning in Whatcom County, but little more accumulation is expected until Friday afternoon, according to the online forecast.
Winds from the Fraser River Valley of British Columbia gusted to 50 mph and stronger overnight in Whatcom County, sending wind chills into the single digits.
Thursday conditions
Strong Fraser winds were forecast throughout Thursday, and a wind advisory was in effect until 10 a.m. Friday.
An overnight low temperature of 21 degrees was recorded at 6:30 a.m. at Bellingham International Airport, and northeast winds were 23 mph, gusting to 40 mph.
A high temperature of 31 degrees with partly sunny skies Thursday was in the forecast for Bellingham, but the mercury remained at 21 degrees at noon.
Winds were blowing at a sustained 31 mph and gusting to 51 mph, with a wind chill of 4 degrees at the airport at noon.
The strongest gusts were 69 mph in Sandy Point and 52 mph in Lynden, the National Weather Service tweeted.
Power outages
Approximately 1,000 Puget Sound Energy customers were without power around noon in scattered outages around northwest Whatcom County, where Fraser Outflow winds have been blowing for several days.
The largest outages were in Marietta, affecting about 600 homes and businesses, and east of Sumas, where about 130 homes were affected.
Schools
No Whatcom County schools were closed Thursday, but Assumption Catholic was starting two hours late.
Bellingham schools are starting on time Thursday, with buses on snow routes for morning and afternoon students at Geneva and Wade King elementary schools, and for Northshore and Academy Hill residents.
No buses will run for students who attend remote classes using “internet cafe” service at middle and high school.
Staying safe
For those without housing, city of Bellingham officials have opened a temporary cold-weather shelter in the Depot Market Square at Railroad and Maple streets.
To volunteer, contact the Parks Department at 360-595-3728 or parks@cob.org or use this Google document.
Lummi Nation asked its residents to keep their pets inside or make sure they have shelter, food and water.
“Reminder, with the freezing temperatures to check on loved ones, elders, vulnerable make sure they are warm and have needs met,” the tribal government said on its Facebook page.
It also recommended covering exposed faucets and pipes disconnecting hoses to guard against freezing pipes.
Mountains
Mt. Baker Ski Area is open for midweek operations.
Mount Baker Highway is open to the ski area, and the state Department of Transportation reported online that the road was bare and dry with compact snow in places.
Traction tires are advised.
Avalanche danger remains “considerable” in the North Cascades backcountry, according to the Northwest Avalanche Center.
Weekend forecast
Forecasters were unsure of the timing and amounts of snowfall for Whatcom County with the storm set to arrive Friday night and Saturday morning, and Fraser winds were expected to force the heaviest snowfall south of the Bellingham area.
“It remains to be seen how efficient the saturation of the air mass is as it battles drier easterly winds in order to further determine a better range of possibilities,” Kristell said.
“Probabilistic data continues to suggest that there is a better than 50% chance that the Seattle area sees between 4-6 inches of snow,” she said.
A winter storm watch might be issued, she said.
More light snow was possible Sunday.
Meanwhile, daytime temperatures were expected to warm above freezing Monday, leading to a chance of rain.
This story was originally published February 11, 2021 at 7:27 AM.
