A winter storm kicking off Wednesday night could lead to a treacherous morning commute on Thursday.
The National Weather Service issued a winter storm watch on Tuesday for Southwest Washington starting tonight and lasting through much of Thursday.
“We’re going to see snow in the morning,” Matthew Cullen, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service, said. “It will probably begin in the very early morning hours on Thursday. That will last for a while, and it will transition to sleet or freezing rain as temperatures begin to warm. Then, it should switch over to rain entirely by Thursday evening.”
Cullen said the service is confident the area will see a winter storm with that pattern of snow transitioning into sleet or freezing rain and then into rain. He said the details are a bit less clear.
“The snow will most likely begin between midnight and 6 a.m.,” Cullen said. “It will probably go through some of the morning, if not much of the morning. As of now, and this is one of the details we’re not completely confident in yet, much of the morning commute could be snow.”
He said Clark County could see a “couple inches of snow and icy accumulation on top of that.”
Another issue could be strong east winds, with areas close to the Columbia River and Columbia River Gorge seeing gusts of 45 miles per hour.
“Those winds will start earlier than the snow, probably starting later on in the day (Wednesday),” Cullen said. “It will be noticeable breezy through the day (Wednesday).”
With the rain later Thursday night, winds will start coming from the south, which will warm up the region. The temperature Thursday night could be warmer than during the day, Cullen said.
He also advised against people going outside while the storm is going on, and if people do have to go outside, Cullen said to make sure to be prepared for not just the precipitation, but also the cold temperatures.
The high Wednesday is forecast to reach only 35 degrees in Vancouver, dropping to 28 degrees Thursday morning.
“We’re looking at some very cold weather, much colder than we’ve been having,” he said. “If you have neighbors without heat or elderly neighbors, check on them, and watch out for pets. This will be the first really hard freeze we’ve had this season.”
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