January 28, 2025

Too Bad We’re Not in Eastern Washington…

Last updated 10:50 AM, Tuesday, February 4th, 2025

By: Addy Curp, Amelia Gordon, Grace Gao, Kwabena Ledbetter, and Sam Richard

Good morning, Huskies! It looks like our brief “warm” spell is over, as we are in for another bone-chilling week in Seattle. Last week’s ridge has been replaced with an equally stubborn low, drawing down extremely cold air from Canada for most of the week, and dragging up an atmospheric river through eastern Washington. Here in Seattle we have been sitting below average since the start of this week. Normal high temperatures for this point in the winter are around 49 degrees. Seattle hit 50 degrees last Friday and has been maxing out in the lower 40s and upper 30s since then. We will most likely see freezing temperatures on campus every day this week, so brace yourselves for some frigid morning walks to class, and slippery sidewalks.

 

The high for today is 39 degrees and the low is 30. This is significantly colder than normal of 49 and this trend will continue through the rest of the week. However, this is well above the historical low of 8.

Along with the freezing temps comes the potential for some snow showers later in the week. The confidence in these snow showers is wavering, and I wouldn’t count on any delays in the Seattle region. However, many districts in the foothills just beyond Bellevue and south of King County have experienced appreciable snowfall. Heading into the rest of the week expect this to be the norm as temperatures will generally be lower in said areas. 

Just off our Western coast is a low-pressure system churning over the Pacific. This is the main culprit behind our cold current conditions, and it will most likely stay where it is until this Friday, continuing to bombard us with cold air all the while.

Looking at the satellite, you can very clearly see the low center. You can also see the atmospheric river that is being brought up through the east side (Eastern Washington), which combined with the low temperatures, has led to a lot of Winter Storm Warnings along its path. While Eastern Washington might get up to 5 inches of snow, Seattle will have to settle for chilly temperatures and a wintry mix that leans towards cold, soggy rain instead of winter wonderland.

Stay warm. Stay dry. Go Huskies!

 

Reach forecasters Addy Curp, Amelia Gordon, Sam Pham, and Sam Richard at uwdawgcast@uw.edu, on X/Twitter @TheUWDawgcast, or on Instagram @uwdawgcast.