10 years in the valley I have noticed that tv weather forecasts tend to ignore us. Sometimes maybe we get a passing glance – a little flirting. It’s like being 30 miles of Seattle makes us part of that weather forecast zone. In my experience, nothing could be further from weather reality. At times, valley weather couldn’t be more different.
Take today for instance. I watched the tv weather reports this morning. They say snow tonight, changing to rain, not much in the way of accumulation. Okay, sounds plausible. But then I check the temperature outside (www.wunderground.com) and the national weather forecast (www.noaa.org) which has snowflakes all over the local valley forecast. So I say to King, Komo, Kiro – can we please have our own weather guy? Or just get a little more attention paid to us? Pretty please? After all, we may be close to Eastern Washington, but we’re still on your half of the state.
According to the National Weather Service forecast, Snoqualmie should expect 1-3 inches of snow tonight and into tomorrow morning…. and it may or may not change to rain. If it does change to rain, it might then turn back to snow. Complicated, I know. It’s all to do with wind direction off the warming Pacific Ocean and elevation. Here’s this morning’s forecast http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lat=47.54631541829465&lon=-121.86996459960938&site=sew&smap=1&marine=0&unit=0&lg=en. For my fellow “weather geeks,” click “forecast discussion” in the bottom right page corner for the most details.
In fact, if this forecast holds up, another 3-5 inches of snow is on tap for Sunday night. Of course, weather forecasts are constantly changing and evolving. Case in point. Seattle on Wednesday. They got no snow while everyone else got hammered. Only time will tell if more Snoqualmie Valley snow happens. National Weather Service updates their forecasts every six hours as weather models evolve. For now, though, be prepared for the possibility of an extended mid winter break for the kids. It seems snow may be done with the lowlands, but we aren’t really lowlands, are we?
If you live in Snoqualmie and want to know how the city deals with snow and ice and/or see the snow plow routes here are a couple great resources: Snow and Ice Plan 12102008 and Snow Plow Routes_12012010.
