SEATTLE -- Just when you thought winter had forgotten about us...

Coming off what might have been the longest, calmest stretch of mid-January to mid-February weather in decades, winter is nestling back into to the Pacific Northwest, bringing a good dose of snow to Whatcom County, and a chance of some minor snow accumulations to the rest of the region Wednesday night and Thursday morning.

So far, we have received several reports of about 3-6" of snow in Lynden, Ferndale and Maple Falls, where it has been snowing most of Wednesday.  That's thanks to some cold air trickling out of the Fraser River Valley combining with some persistent showers stuck over the area.

This area can expect more snow overnight. A new WINTER STORM WARNING has been issued for western Whatcom County through 4 a.m. Thursday.  They could see an additional 2-4" overnight, making for storm totals ranging from 5-10" by Thursday.

A lesser WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY has been issued for San Juan County, western Skagit County, the eastern Strait of Juan de Fuca, and Whidbey and Camano Islands, also through 4 a.m. Thursday. Here, as much as 1-3" could fall by Thursday morning.

An area of low pressure with an Alaskan heritage is dropping in from north, bringing cooler air behind it Wednesday night into Thursday morning.

That air will be cold enough to get us marginally close to the magic temperature for snow, and there will be some scattered showers still roaming around.

Thus, we do have the chance for some areas of snow showers, but this is not a solid arctic event, nor is the moisture widespread, so we're looking at more hit-and-miss snow showers with spotty light accumulations of around an inch or two.

Aside from the warning areas listed above, the best chances for these light accumulations appear to be the Hood Canal area and Southwestern Washington (areas Olympia south), where you could see as much as 1-2" accumulations.

At this point, it appears the main Puget Sound metro region will be shadowed a bit from the Olympics and not see much in the way of showers, although any showers that do make it could be snow, especially snow with elevation, but no significant accumulations are expected -- maybe a dusting to an inch.

So as of now, I don't expect any big challenges to the Thursday morning commute, aside from maybe some "Gee whiz" slowing if you do get a snow or mix shower. (Road temperatures are quite warm, so any snow will have a difficult time sticking to well-traveled roadways anyway.)

One caveat to keep an eye on is a possible Convergence Zone, which could bring some light snow accumulations to the Tukwila to Everett corridor, but forecasting models as of Wednesday morning indicate that the wind pattern is not conducive to a zone's formation.  But that could change. We'll definitely keep an eye on it.

This is mainly a Wednesday night/Thursday morning event as temperatures will warm into the low 40s by afternoon, switching whatever's falling to rain and it'll begin to wash away everything. So overall, not a big deal, but I know any kind of snow flurrie sparks a flurry of interest.

Now, Thursday afternoon could have its own fireworks as some of the showers that could be around in the midday and afternoon hours could be quite heavy and perhaps have some lightning or ice pellets.  And it's not out of the realm that a really heavy shower could temporarily knock the snow level back to the surface, especially above 500 feet. But once the shower passes, temperatures would quickly bounce back well above freezing and provide a quick melt.

We dry out Thursday night, but maybe a few last stubborn showers might mix back to brief snow or mix, but nothing to worry about.

By Friday, we're all dry and a bit warmer, climbing up the temperature ladder and heading back over 50 by the weekend.


One Place That Will See Snow? The Mountains!

It's a much easier snow forecast for the mountains, where a Winter Weather Advisory remains in effect until midnight Thursday morning. 8-10" of new snow are expected around Mount Baker, and about 3-6" of new snow are expected in the central Cascade passes.  Skiers, the powder is back!

Why Is The Snow So Variable?

Check out my blog entry today, which deals with why snowfall can, and is so varied across Western Washington.