The snow will continue in the Cascades at times into Sunday evening, with a Winter Storm Warning until 10 a.m. Monday. Another 6 to 12 inches of snow is likely, with lowest amounts near Snoqualmie Pass and higher amounts likely near Stevens Pass.
However, snow totals will be maximized in the west-eastern snow bands, so the highest amounts will be below where these snow bands have been established for a while.
Travelers must be prepared to enter the passes.
The wind gusts have decreased on Saturday night, but some rain showers are expected in the lowlands until Sunday evening. There is also the possibility of an isolated thunderstorm this Sunday and evening, especially near the coast and the Olympic Peninsula.
We’ll get a bit of a break from rain chances on Monday, although some spotty showers will remain, with rain in the lowlands and snow in the mountains. This also applies to Monday evening and Tuesday morning.
Snow levels could drop as low as 1,000 feet Monday night and Tuesday morning, so there could be some snow mixed with rain with any showers in the foothills. A significant accumulation is not expected.
TUESDAY WIND EVENT: A very strong area of low pressure will be well off the coast of Western Washington on Tuesday. While the strongest winds (80-90mph+) will remain off our coast, a large pressure difference between high pressure on land and very low pressure offshore will produce some strong winds blowing westward from the Cascades beginning late Tuesday morning and speed up in the afternoon. until the early evening hours.
These Cascade gap winds affect areas near the Cascade passages the most and are located downwind. Places like North Bend, Enumclaw, Buckley, Black Diamond and Monroe and Sultan are particularly susceptible to these high winds.
Wind gusts at these locations at the base of the Cascade could be between 50 and 60 miles per hour Tuesday afternoon and Tuesday evening. These wind values are high enough to cause significant tree damage and power outages in the affected areas.
High winds are also expected on the Pacific coast, with winds of 80 to 100 km/h along beaches and nearby areas.
Elsewhere, there will be gusts with gusts above 60 km/h on Tuesday afternoon or evening at the height of the wind event. These winds are most likely in places like South King County from Newcastle to Seatac, parts of Thurston and inland Pierce County, and along US-2 to Everett. Minor damage and power outages may occur in these areas. In the rest of the area it will be windy here and there.
More will follow as the event gets closer. But with a high chance of strong, damaging winds in parts of Western Washington on Tuesday, a Pinpoint Alert Day has been declared for Tuesday.
