February 25, 2023

Forecast: February 25th, 2023

Last updated 10:15 AM, Saturday, February 25th, 2023  

By Anthony Edwards 

Happy Saturday! 

Hopefully you’ve enjoyed the sunshine the past two days, but even in the sunshine it has been COLD. 

Temperatures have failed to eclipse 40 degrees since Tuesday, with overnight lows in the 20s each night. While we’ll reach the low-to-mid 40s today, that’s still 10 degrees below normal. Things will quickly cool back down tonight with the threat of wintery weather. 

High clouds are quickly approaching ahead of another winter weather-maker this evening and overnight. A large portion of Western Washington should see snowflakes beginning this evening into Sunday, but accumulations will vary by location. We’ll break it down here.

Folks along the coast (north of about Grays Harbor) and up near the Canadian border have the first chance at seeing snowflakes around the 4 o’clock hour. Precipitation will spread into the metro area around 7 or 8 o’clock and will begin as light snow, possibly mixed with rain in some spots right along the water.

Although we’ll be around 40 degrees near sunset, the precipitation, combined with dry air at the surface, will be enough to cool us down quickly. Think of getting out of the pool on a windy day, the air evaporates the water off your skin, making you feel chilly. This happens in the atmosphere and is known as evaporative cooling. This is what sets us up for snowfall tonight. 

Precipitation really picks up toward the midnight hour, dragging cold air down with it. Temperatures crash back down to the low-to-mid 30s during the most significant precipitation. Even slightly above freezing, heavy snowfall can survive to the surface and quickly make for slippery roads. Our recent cold temperatures will aid accumulation chances on all surfaces. Be careful out there! 

The snow will be battling a southerly breeze that tries to warm us up, but the precipitation type should remain mainly snow for areas north of Pierce County, save for areas right at sea level along Puget Sound that will see more slush and some rain mixed in during lighter showers. 

Precipitation wraps up by sunrise Sunday (outside of a convergence zone near the King/Snohomish County line) and temperatures jump back up to the 40s during the day, so melting will be quick. The snow level Sunday will remain around 500 feet, so snow fans will have to wait until nightfall for another chance. 

All-in-all, here is my forecast for 4PM Saturday – 10AM Sunday: 

Pierce Co: Trace-2″

King/Snohomish Co (Seattle/Everett): Trace-3″ (1-4″ above 200 ft.) 

Hood Canal (Seabeck, Belfair): 3-5″

Skagit Co. & areas north (Bellingham): 2-6″ 

Olympia & areas south: 1-3″

Overall, both short to long range forecasts include much below-average temperatures and wintery precipitation chances, especially in the early morning hours and in hilly spots. 

Monday into Tuesday has the potential to be especially snowy, so we’ll track that more in tomorrow’s forecast.

Enjoy the snow and tag us in  your pictures on social media!

Reach forecaster Anthony Edwards at theuwdawgcast@uw.edu or on Twitter @TheUWDawgcast and Instagram @UWDawgcast