The weather pattern Monday was like a cat-and-mouse game (where’s the cheese?)
Bitter cold arctic air bottled up to our north and mild air to the south. A battle of the air masses. For example at 4 p.m. Monday it was only 22 degrees with moderate snow at Oak Harbor on the northern tip of Whidbey Island. Contrast that to Vancouver’s 42 degrees. Bellingham was also 22 degrees with wind gusts exceeding 50 mph. At times Monday the cold air was as close as Kalama with freezing temperatures and snow. That retreated for a while clear back to Seattle before the northerly component bounced back and dropped Seattle back into 20s.
As I write this column at 5 p.m. Monday all indications were that the cold air would eventually arrive, although the moisture source would be somewhat limited. The temperature was dropping quickly and snow was mixing in at my home in Salmon Creek. The big problem this morning will be the very icy streets with some snow on top as well. Snow reports around Clark County on Monday afternoon ranged from just a trace upwards of 6 inches or more above 1,000 feet. Close but no cigar at city levels during the daylight hours.
Many areas around Clark County in the lowlands east of Interstate 5 did get a brief snow cover on Sunday. November snowfall is rare. Looking back into the record books, the last time was in 2003. Prior to that we had November snowfall in 1994, 1985, 1978, 1977 and 1955. The snow in 1985 was accompanied by bitter cold with Vancouver’s record for Nov. 23 at 11 degrees that year. It when on to be record cold two more days with 8 and 13 degrees.
But even if it is in the lower 20s or upper teens early today and Wednesday morning that is very cold by any standards for us in the month of November. What happens next? Cold air is still with us on Wednesday and a chance of more snow showers.
Pat Timm is a local weather specialist. His column appears Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. Reach him at http://weathersystems.com.
