Here’s when biting cold wind, light snow arrive in Whatcom lowlands
Bellingham and the rest of lowland Whatcom County will get another blast of arctic air and likely some snow this week as the Fraser winds start to blow just in time to affect schools and the morning commute Wednesday, Feb. 22.
Winds will shift to the northeast late Tuesday, Feb. 21, just as a storm system is sweeping out of Whatcom County, said meteorologist Carly Kovacik at the National Weather Service in Seattle.
“Initially, the wind won’t be very strong, but they’ll noticeably pick up through (Tuesday) evening,” Kovacik told The Bellingham Herald.
Those northeast winds will hit 25-35 mph, with 50 mph gusts, according to a wind advisory that’s in place until Thursday afternoon, Feb. 23.
Whether Whatcom County will see snow — and how much — depends on the timing of precipitation that’s sweeping past the area just as cold winds arrive from the Fraser River Valley of British Columbia, Kovacik said.
“A lot of the moisture is going to move south of you,” she said.
Anything from a dusting to about an inch of snow is expected by early Wednesday morning. she said.
But temperatures will stay unseasonably cold for several days, enough to activate emergency severe weather shelters.
Daytime highs will be in the low 30s with overnight lows in the teens and 20s until the weekend — that’s 15 to 20 degrees below normal for late winter.
There could be another round of snow, or a “wintry mix” of rain and snow on Saturday afternoon.
But it shouldn’t stick around long, because temperatures will begin to rise and rain is likely Sunday, Feb. 26.
It’s a different story in the mountains, however, because heavy has been falling.
Mt. Baker Ski Area was open Tuesday with 10 inches of new snow.
But there was a tree well and deep snow advisory and avalanche danger was “considerable” in the North Cascades, according to the Northwest Avalanche Center.
Mt. Baker Highway was open with traction tires required and compact snow and ice on the road about 4,000 feet, according to the Washington State Department of Transportation.
