We've had the rain and wind, now comes the snow (for some)

SEATTLE -- It's the Northwest winter hat trick: Rain, wind and snow.

We've had the rain and the wind. Now we'll finish off the feat with some pockets of lowland snow overnight as some cooler air moves in behind Monday morning's storm.

Snow levels are now essentially at sea level through Tuesday morning, allowing any passing showers to be in the form of wet snow showers. Most areas won't see any significant accumulations beyond a quick dusting, including Seattle-Bellevue proper and points south as we don't have a whole lot of moisture besides some scattered showers.

But there are a few exceptions, and that is where a Puget Sound Convergence Zone is expected to form. It's been active through Monday and then fizzled a bit but will re-energize at times overnight and can last for hours, bringing snow where it forms.

A Winter Weather Advisory is in effect for the usual Convergence Zone locations of the greater Everett/Southwestern Snohomish County areas (including Mill Creek, Lake Stevens, Lynnwood, Mukilteo and Mountlake Terrace), as well as the Cascade foothills of Snohomish and north King County from 10 p.m. Monday through noon Tuesday. The Advisory is also in effect for the western Skagit County lowlands and Admiralty Inlet areas, such as Stanwood, Anacortes, and Oak Harbor.

Depending on the strength, location and duration of the zone, those areas could see anywhere between 1-3 inches of snow, with the higher amounts in the higher elevations away from water. Snow there would gradually taper off through Tuesday.

In addition, Port Angeles and southwestern Washington, including Olympia, Shelton and Centralia, were added to the Winter Weather Advisory for persistent showers that could bring 1-3".

Those of you who live in the Advisory areas near Puget Sound may find your commute a tough go when leaving, although if you work in the main Downtown corridors of Seattle and Bellevue, the conditions there should be OK. South Sound locations have a much lower chance of persistent snow -- you'll have to be lucky and get hit with one of the other random showers roaming around.

Temperatures are expected to warm into the upper 30s by Tuesday afternoon easily melting any snow that fell and the zone should fizzle as we dry out. In fact, some clearing is expected Tuesday night.

However, that clearing combined with the chilly air mass in place will allow temperatures to drop to around freezing in the city and maybe even below in the outlying areas.

Meanwhile, a weak front will approach with our next round of rain Wednesday morning. It's possible that if the timing matches up and the front arrives near the time of our morning low temperatures, that the precipitation could briefly begin as snow Wednesday morning but models indicate the cold air will be rapidly scoured out and any snow will change to a chilly rain a short time later. (The exception here is the western Hood Canal area which could again see some accumulating snow once again.) Highs again are expected to reach 40.

That front should warm us up just enough that the lowlands will be just rain showers at times for the rest of the week, although snow levels are expected to remain well below pass levels for continued mountain snow.

Speaking of the mountains, the blizzard is gone (so your cell phones should be thankfully quiet again), but snow remains. A Winter Weather Advisory is in effect through midnight for another 5-10 inches of snow up there, which I think will push Snoqualmie over the 1,000 inch mark. OK, not really. It just might seem that way.

Thursday through Sunday will feature a cool, showery pattern with occasional sunbreaks too. Highs will remain a bit cooler than normal with highs near 40 and lows in the mid 30s. That pattern looks like it'll actually hold through Christmas -- showers, sunbreaks, relatively chilly. Odds of a White Christmas are not high, unless you're spending Christmas at your favorite ski lodge...