There was enough cold air in place Monday from our last cold front that passed through a few days ago to help start the precipitation in Northern Washington as snow. Blaine and Bellingham both had enough to cover the ground and some locations reported up to 2 inches of the white stuff. North-central and far Eastern Washington also had snowfall with much colder temperatures in the 20s.
No worries locally; it was a chilly rain with temperatures in the upper 30s early, rising into the upper 40s as the day wore on. Today more clouds and rain with a southerly flow of air. Highs will be in the low 50s, above average for early December. Beginning Wednesday, cooler air will filter in from the northwest and we will remain with highs near normal the rest of the week and into the weekend. So, highs in the 40s and with brief clearing at night, in the 30s. Typical winter weather. Of course, we will keep the steady rain or showers going all week off and on.
This will be an excellent weather pattern for building our snowpack. Snow could fall down to our foothills as well at times. If we get any clearing this weekend, we should see snow on the foothills to our east. About time the mountains began their annual snow buildup.
Writing this column Monday afternoon and talking about snow reminded me of a trip I was making to the Seattle area on Dec. 6, 2013. We woke up here in Vancouver to strong cold northeast winds and a weather system traveling mainly to our south. It started snowing and at 9 a.m. it was 21 degrees and 2 inches of snow at my home in Salmon Creek. By the time we passed Woodland, the snow had stopped. In Seattle, it was clear and sunny.
