First lowland snow dots parts of Western Washington
SEATTLE -- Some parts of the region awoke to a little snow Tuesday morning as winter gets started a few days early.
Scattered reports of snow were mainly about an inch or less, but Spanaway reported 2-3 inches in some spots while a viewer in Graham reported 4 inches. Indeed, most of the "snow winners" appeared to be in the South Sound area and in the Cascade foothills -- recipients of most of the scattered showers that moved in off the Pacific Ocean.
The snow caused some schools to delay the start of classes (See the full list) and Winter Weather Advisories remained in effect until noon for many areas, including the greater Tacoma, Everett, Port Angeles, Olympia, and the Cascade foothills for an additional 1-2 inches in passing snow showers.
The Seattle Metro area was left outside the advisory as the Olympics Mountains have been blocking much moisture from reaching the heart of the city. The main freeways were bare and wet across the Puget Sound area as were Seattle's side streets. However, some roads did ice up in the South Sound. The ramp from I-5 south to SR-7 near Tacoma was closed for a period Tuesday morning after multiple spin-outs, the State Patrol reported.
Temperatures early Tuesday morning were just above freezing for much of the region, briefly dropping to around the freezing mark during passing snow showers.
Hit-and-miss snow showers will continue during the morning and then snow levels will rise a bit to around 500 feet in the afternoon as temperatures climb into the upper 30s, allowing the snow to change to a mix or just light rain. Still, a very chilly mid-December day on tap.
More hit-and-miss snow showers will return Tuesday night as we cool off after sunset, but no additional accumulations are expected.
Back to the rain and wind
Our next chapter in this stormy trilogy this week comes Wednesday morning with another approaching front. This one will be more of the familiar rain and gusty winds as some warmer air ahead of the storm will keep snow levels above the lowlands, although there could be enough cool air trapped that it briefly begins as snow before a quick change to rain.
However, there is one exception -- the Hood Canal "snow belt" area including Brinnon, Hoodsport and Seabeck. Some easterly winds ahead of the storm will run up the eastern side of the Olympics, creating precipitation and since cold air likes to remain trapped at the surface, they could set some accumulating snow before a gradual change to rain.
For the rest of the region, it's rain with perhaps a brief mix at the very start of the precipitation.
As for wind, a High Wind Watch is in effect for Wednesday morning for the coast and Northwest Interior for southeasterly winds of 30-40 mph gusting to 60 mph. Winds will be gusty but less intense in the Seattle/Central Puget Sound area.
Up in the mountains, snow continues to be forecasted in feet instead of inches. A Winter Storm Watch is in effect from Wednesday morning through Thursday morning for as much as 1-3 feet of new snow by Thursday.
Once this storm passes, we're looking at a cool showery pattern that will hold into the weekend.
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You can share your snow photos or videos and check out submissions from other viewers in the YouNews section of our website.
Scattered reports of snow were mainly about an inch or less, but Spanaway reported 2-3 inches in some spots while a viewer in Graham reported 4 inches. Indeed, most of the "snow winners" appeared to be in the South Sound area and in the Cascade foothills -- recipients of most of the scattered showers that moved in off the Pacific Ocean.
The snow caused some schools to delay the start of classes (See the full list) and Winter Weather Advisories remained in effect until noon for many areas, including the greater Tacoma, Everett, Port Angeles, Olympia, and the Cascade foothills for an additional 1-2 inches in passing snow showers.
The Seattle Metro area was left outside the advisory as the Olympics Mountains have been blocking much moisture from reaching the heart of the city. The main freeways were bare and wet across the Puget Sound area as were Seattle's side streets. However, some roads did ice up in the South Sound. The ramp from I-5 south to SR-7 near Tacoma was closed for a period Tuesday morning after multiple spin-outs, the State Patrol reported.
Temperatures early Tuesday morning were just above freezing for much of the region, briefly dropping to around the freezing mark during passing snow showers.
Hit-and-miss snow showers will continue during the morning and then snow levels will rise a bit to around 500 feet in the afternoon as temperatures climb into the upper 30s, allowing the snow to change to a mix or just light rain. Still, a very chilly mid-December day on tap.
More hit-and-miss snow showers will return Tuesday night as we cool off after sunset, but no additional accumulations are expected.
Back to the rain and wind
Our next chapter in this stormy trilogy this week comes Wednesday morning with another approaching front. This one will be more of the familiar rain and gusty winds as some warmer air ahead of the storm will keep snow levels above the lowlands, although there could be enough cool air trapped that it briefly begins as snow before a quick change to rain.
However, there is one exception -- the Hood Canal "snow belt" area including Brinnon, Hoodsport and Seabeck. Some easterly winds ahead of the storm will run up the eastern side of the Olympics, creating precipitation and since cold air likes to remain trapped at the surface, they could set some accumulating snow before a gradual change to rain.
For the rest of the region, it's rain with perhaps a brief mix at the very start of the precipitation.
As for wind, a High Wind Watch is in effect for Wednesday morning for the coast and Northwest Interior for southeasterly winds of 30-40 mph gusting to 60 mph. Winds will be gusty but less intense in the Seattle/Central Puget Sound area.
Up in the mountains, snow continues to be forecasted in feet instead of inches. A Winter Storm Watch is in effect from Wednesday morning through Thursday morning for as much as 1-3 feet of new snow by Thursday.
Once this storm passes, we're looking at a cool showery pattern that will hold into the weekend.
---
You can share your snow photos or videos and check out submissions from other viewers in the YouNews section of our website.
OMG when will the media cease and desist with this as news? It is December and we are the northerly most large city in the lower 48! Please find some news.
If you have lived in Wa. a long time you know that the snow is different here. It packs into ice and is horrible to drive in. In most other states it is dryer and just blows around and makes snow banks and is so much easier to handle. The people here actually like some snow in winter so they tend to get excited over it just as we do for the sunshine. We live in a great state where we get all kinds of weather. I live in Port Orchard and we only got a few flakes in patches on the ground last night but even that was fun. As for the wind it wasn't much either but it sounded good to hear it and the air was much cleaner after it was over. I love all the excitement the storms bring as long as they aren't to devastating. Wonderful place to live.
Barely a breeze during the wind storm event at my house. An ever so slight amount of snow in Mill Creek (part of the winter advisory zone). I could just barely tell that it snowed by a few spots of white in the grass. This was definitely over hyped for my area (definitely not complaining though). It seems like the areas that weren't predicted to get snow got the most (South Hill, Graham). At least I now have a nice flashlight and some D batteries to ignite my gas fireplace if something actually does go down later this winter or in the coming years.
@Paddy I think part of the problem with weather predictions for this area is that the forecasts cover such a variety of terrain and climatic conditions. Sounds like they got hammered in some parts of Kitsap County; some foothills communities got a lot also. In my neighborhood, we often get a foot or more of snow and ice, while barely a mile from us (down hill and away from the foothills), they get very little snow. So how to predict for such varied conditions? And - how to write forecasts with the other meteorological uncertainties in this area?
It's still snowing in the Lake Stevens/Snohomish area.
@takncarabizniz How much is there now? It was snowing pretty hard when I left for work (around 4am!).
Got about 3 inches at my house, luckily it wasn't cold enough to form ice. Commute was no problem except for the people stopping in the middle of a hill, going 5 mph for no reason or the person doing 50 that spun out blocking all lanes after hitting a telephone pole. As usual with every time it snows around here, the weather isn't the problem....it's the people that are too stupid to drive in it.
The NWS has warned us twice (via cell phones) about blizzards down here in the lowlands. This was the first blizzard, the second blizzard is on it's way. How many days till that Mayan calendar thing?
 @Jon H Did you read the alert... it was for the mountains.. and you got it because you are in the county that the mountain range in question was... sheesh... I really hope you are not that dim
Actually freespeech, the problem was that the alerts never mentioned WHERE the blizzards would be, and that is why people were concerned. In case you missed it, even the news was reporting the error.
Nothing here just like the sold called wind storm that preceded the snow event. Â What would we do if we actually got snow similar to Spokane and other parts of the US that actually have a winter? Â It only takes 1-2" of snow to shut down the region currently.Â
You do realize, hallandoates, that this region will never have an adequate response because every storm changes the game plan. You also realize that whether it be the artic-like winds, the moist breezes off the water or the lower temps bringing in snow, we have a lot of hills and an ice factor that must be taken into account. I don't care where you come from (I'm from Montana myself), it's impossible to get adequate traction on a hill covered in solid ice. People are simply not able to handle the winters here anymore, although if you look at pictures of Seattle from the turn of the 20th century, there were snowdrifts on downtown streets 10 feet high sometimes. But then again, we didn't have millions of cars and drivers on the roads to worry about.
@HallandOates Maybe because we don't get snow very often here, so it is a big deal to some people - ? If you don't like the way this part of the state responds to winter, why don't you move to a place that responds "appropriately" (according to your standards)? Anyway, people in many parts of the world (Alaska, the Yukon) probably don't think Spokane has much of a winter either. It's really all about what you are accustomed to.
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 @AcesHidden  @HallandOates Sorry. But name calling and using a "potty mouth" (4 letter words) isn't something I expect from a mature adult such as yourself! I think it's perfectly logical and compassionate to encourage people to live where they are happy. If you can't move, then learn to be happy where you are. To quote one of my favorite authors "I have learned to be content in whatever state I am in".
 @Silvia  @HallandOates The media coverage "Silvia" is grossly over hypes WINTER STORM WATCH 2012. And no I won't be moving "to a place that responds appropriately" thank you.Â
 @HallandOates Everyone has a right to my own opinion.
 @HallandOates whining.
@HallandOates True. Of course. Everyone has the right to an opinion. Which is why I'm giving you *my* opinion as well. And - if you gripe like this to your family/coworkers, I really pity them. Just my opinion, of course! :-)
 @Silvia  @HallandOates "Wining about the media?"  Hey Silvia, this is a blog with people's opinions. You know, freedom of speech. If you don't like someone's opinion, perhaps you need to turn the computer off.  Everyone has a right to speak their opinion in this country the last time I checked.Â
@HallandOates Then please - quit your whining about the media coverage/the way people in general here respond to the weather. What we have is what we have, and your griping doesn't change anything. "When in Rome, do as the Romans do", you know - ?
Our cities coverage of and reaction to snow is pathetic and embarrassing. Â
 @The206 People have been saying that for years. Here is what I wonder: 1. Are the newscasters all from warm climates like California? 2. Do they think we are all from warm climates and this is our first winter here (which *is* the case for some people-many have moved over the summer)? Â
What baffles me as a native is when people complain about how we drive in the snow (not you, The206). When you generalize about a city like that you have to remember that many people who live here are transplants. Â And so what if we natives don't know how to drive in snow as well as people who grew up driving in it.
 @IronWafflez  @The206 What also baffles me (not to hijack your comment, IronWafflez, but this is convenient!) - people say the newscasts are overhyped. Sooo? In most cases, the people who say that haven't really been impacted by the hype. They didn't spend much (if any) time getting ready for the storm - not like the electrical crews who probably had their time off canceled, or were in "standby" mode. I guess they'd rather be reading crime reports and other bad news?
 @IronWafflez  @The206 I should add that I did spend time getting ready for the power outage (that didn't happen) earlier this week. I filled big buckets of water so that we could flush if the power went out (yes, we have a generator, but it's a pain to use in the middle of the night). I also got caught up on laundry and ran the dishwasher. So I really did spend time getting ready for this storm that didn't happen. But the overhype didn't bother me. Better to be prepared "just in case".
@The206 So if you find the coverage so terrible, why do you bother watching it/reading it?
All the talk was about the Convergence zone forming and making it happen and further south you go, less chance... but I was up awake getting stuff done last night and noticed there was no convergenze zone (besides skagit county that was very tiny and lasted no more then an hour) and down south got most of it... im hoping this isnt another winter of playing guess who gets snow
 @ajohnsoccer21 It always is.  Those who regularly get snow in one of our storms know who they are. It's usually the same locales over and over. Where I live, we only get it if it's a pretty major dump, and we're slightly elevated.Â
@IronWafflez I probably should of added I live in the hills outside of Monroe, right in the middle of the convergence zone.. I know I am one of the regulars... I was just giving them a hard time for saying the main people to get snow are the ones in the zone, and then it ended up not happening and all the good stuff went south... :)
 @ajohnsoccer21 Every winter is guess who gets snow.
FIRST lowland snow??? Maybe they should look outside of Seattle. I live on the Kitsap Peninsula and I have had almost a foot of snow since it started snowing Saturday. It snowed about 4 inches Saturday, another 6 inches Sunday and I have another 2 inches this morning. Saturday night it froze some. Then Sunday evening it rained and then froze. I'll probably have it in my yard for the rest of the week due to the freezing temps. I am already tired of it snowing.Â
1/4" of snow in Snoqualmie, school delayed 2 hours..... not sure why the delay, the roads are pretty clear.
 @pinkyjones We didn't even get that much and Fife closed schools since it was already a half day.  Totally ridiculous.Â
snow where?? drive down 410 was easy breezy...you'd think it was a blizzard out waking up to the news....
I'm glad it wasn't too bad. I live in Lynnwood, and have to drive to the VA hospital early, and a snowy commute would have been ugly. I don't mind the snow most of the time, just today.
 @Glen Well.... OK ; )
Doesn't look like I'm getting stuck in any snow banks today... boohoo!