We have had, as expected, a bout of light freezing rain around many parts of Western Washington Tuesday evening.
We’re tracking the complex forecast with our interactive live map.
As of 12 a.m. in Seattle, temperatures are hovering around 32 degrees, with that carrying through the middle of the night.
Wednesday morning will be around 34 degrees with an afternoon high of 40 degrees.
A Winter Weather Advisory is in effect until 1 a.m. for South King County, though it could be extended.
While main roads have remained generally in fine shape, some side streets, sidewalks, driveways, etc. have become slippery away from the larger bodies of water.
There has been a glaze reported on the ground in Sammamish, Bonney Lake, Lake Tapps, and other similar locations in eastern parts of King and Pierce Counties.
We are seeing some slippery parking lots in Parkland that could be an issue later on as the temperature drops. Drivers should remain very careful if venturing out before dawn.
Untreated roads are by far the most likely to be affected, along with parking lots and sidewalks that aren’t salted. To see if your road is being treated, go here.
Meanwhile, in Thurston and Lewis Counties, the ice appears to be mainly on less well-traveled roads.
We already have a thick glaze forming. 28 degrees here 6 miles E of Chehalis. All freezing raining here! @NWSSeattle #wawx pic.twitter.com/DFNRwkGEBd
— Jeremy Scott (@revjer25) January 17, 2024
South of Skagit County, expect temperatures to rise a bit before daybreak, ending the freezing rain threat in the lowlands.
A Winter Weather Advisory is in effect until 4 a.m. for Everett through Skagit County, but this could be extended.
In Whatcom and northern Skagit Counties, the precipitation is freezing rain and light snow. But as some cold air is drawn into that region, expect snow to be the main precipitation type by morning with 2-4 inches of snow by midday around Bellingham.
Farther west along the Strait, west of Port Angeles, a few inches of snow will likely fall Wednesday morning. A Winter Storm Warning is in effect for the area through Wednesday.
In the Cascades, one to two feet of snow will fall Tuesday night through Wednesday night.
Some mountain snow will also continue, though at lower elevations like Snoqualmie Pass, we’ll likely be dealing with rain falling on top of all that new snow.
Wednesday afternoon into evening, we’ll watch for temporarily dropping snow levels and the chance for some light wintry precipitation to come around again for a time, but the best chance will be near the Canadian border.
Another batch of moisture will come in Thursday, likely turning out to be just rain in the lowlands but there could be some brief snow mixed in as the rainfall moves in. There could be some accumulating snow again nearer the Canadian border.
The last of the cold air will be gone as we round out the work week and go into the weekend. We could touch 50 degrees for highs by Saturday with rain continuing.
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