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Seattle area could see 5 to 8 inches of snow in next blast — and even more later

The Seattle area could get more snow starting Friday afternoon, and roads like Mountain View Drive South in South Seattle could be coated with more ice. (Bettina Hansen / The Seattle Times)
By Christine Clarridge Seattle Times

Stock up on groceries: The Seattle area could get 5 to 8 inches of snow starting Friday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service’s forecast. And the wind is expected to roar back in, too.

In addition, there’s a possibility we could get as many as two more snowfalls before the end of next week, according to the weather service.

A weather system, similar to the one that dumped snow on the region earlier this week, is expected to hit on Friday, potentially bringing more days of canceled classes, snow on the ground and road issues next week.

“That’s our current best guess right now,” said Gary Schneider, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, about the prediction for a half-foot or so of snow.

Schneider said the snow will potentially begin falling on Friday, becoming increasingly heavy as the day passes, with the heaviest downfall occurring overnight into Saturday.

It could be a fun day, he said, “if you don’t have to work or drive in it.”

The weather service has a winter-storm watch from Friday afternoon to Saturday afternoon.

Wintry winds from the Fraser River Valley in Canada are expected to blow into the Puget Sound region at around 20 to 35 mph. The Bellingham area could see wind speeds up to 60 mph.

But hold on: the weather service is also looking at the possibility of more snow in the Pacific Northwest on Monday and Tuesday and again next Thursday and Friday (Feb. 14 and 15).

“There is a lot of uncertainty about that,” said Schneider, referring to forecasts that look forward more than a few days. “It’s a possibility that we will get another lowland snow event early next week and possibly later in the week, but we are focused on getting through this one first.”

Schneider said because temperatures are expected to remain in the low 30s during the day and drop into the low 20s and teens during the night, it’s likely we will have snow on the ground, and many of the same travel issues, next week.

“It is certainly within the range of possibilities,” he said. “We’re not going to warm up any time soon.”