Snow on the way? What to expect as active week of weather rolls into Western Washington

A blizzard warning takes effect near the Cascade mountains on Tuesday morning, while lowland snow could be on tap across Western Washington later this week.

The National Weather Service based out of the Seattle area hasn’t had to issue a blizzard warning in over a decade. But on Monday, that notice was sent out for areas through the Cascades and Olympics spanning the northern edge of the state down to the southern border.

A blizzard warning constitutes blowing snow, 35-plus mile an hour wins, and less than a quarter mile of visibility over the course of over three hours at a time. That warning will be in effect from 4 a.m. Tuesday through 10 a.m. Wednesday.

KIRO 7 Pinpoint Meteorologist Nick Allard says that we can expect between seven and 15 inches of snow at the passes into Tuesday. On Monday night, winds will increase to 40 to 45 mile an hour gusts with a chance for power outages.

Once the blizzard warning sets in on Tuesday, the passes could end up with one to four feet of snow.

After that, things get interesting for the lowlands when temperatures dip on Thursday. According to the NWS, there’s a 40 to 60% the Puget Sound lowlands get an inch or more of snow between Thursday and Saturday, with a slimmer 10 to 15% chance of four inches or more.

Allard says that our best chance of widespread lowland snow will be on Friday.

That said, snow forecasts in our region can change on a dime, so stick with KIRO 7 this week for everything you need to know to prep for the coming weather.

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