The month of January thus far has seen a wide range of weather conditions, from below-average temperatures to above-average temperatures, and from snow to warm winter rain. We’ve seen wind and even a little bit of sun (wow, what a concept!). The big story of this past week was an atmospheric river that impacted the…
Happy New Year, everyone! 2021 was quite the year for a variety of reasons (at least it was for me—I got married, after all), but weather-wise, it was definitely an interesting year. Let’s examine some of the data. Take a look at the graph shown below, which depicts the total precipitation accumulation over the course…
City of Mountlake Terrace public works employees continued to stay busy keeping the city’s primary travel routes passable, as fresh snow fell Wednesday night into Thursday and frigid temperatures persisted in the Puget Sound region. Once again, the city’s plows initially focused on maintaining arterials and primary routes before turning their focus to side streets….
The Interstate 5 express lanes will remain open southbound until Monday, Jan. 3. The Washington State Department of Transportation said Thursday it that decision because of the continuing winter weather conditions. With the cold temperatures, ice and snow can freeze and lock the express lanes gate mechanisms. In the past, attempting to operate the systems…
Welcome to Alaska…I mean, Western Washington. Anyone else out there still defrosting from those cold temperatures? More on that in a moment. Last week I mentioned the slight possibility of a white Christmas. As expected, we didn’t quite get the white Christmas many desired—we just missed it by about 24 hours. Snow fell in the…
The Snohomish Health District announced that due to inclement weather, its drive-thru COVID-19 testing and vaccination locations will be closed through the rest of this week. People who had previously scheduled an appointment are advised to watch for the cancelation notification, which will also provide more information. The health district recommended that those with any…
Exposure to winter’s dry, cold air and chilly rain, sleet and snow can cause chapped paws and itchy, flaking skin, but these aren’t the only discomforts pets can suffer. Winter walks can become downright dangerous if chemicals from ice-melting agents are licked off of bare paws. To help prevent cold weather dangers from affecting your…
As frigid temperatures continue in the Puget Sound region, City of Mountlake Terrace public works employees are busy keeping the city’s primary travel routes passable. Public Works Director Eric LaFrance said that as of early Monday afternoon, “Priority routes and arterials have been plowed, and they are starting on side streets.” He noted that crews…
With temperatures expected to fall below 20 degrees Fahrenheit Sunday night, Snohomish County said its crews are now focusing on deicing operations. The county reported that its road maintenance crews have plowed 10,674 miles, sanded 2,504 miles, and have used more than 600 tons of sand and salt since Christmas morning. With temperatures expected to…
The much-anticipated snow arrived overnight in the Puget Sound region, with several inches covering the Mountlake Terrace and Brier areas as of Sunday morning. Here’s information from the City of Mountlake Terrace regarding snow removal priorities for city roadways. Police were advising drivers to stay away from 220th Street Southwest between Highway 99 and Interstate…
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The National Weather Service is forecasting snow and ice in Puget Sound over the next several days, which may have an impact on regional transportation. Sound Transit offers the following tips to help you prepare for your commute during these challenging conditions: Be prepared Sign up for text or email Rider Alerts and follow Sound Transit…
After Santa’s job is done this holiday season, it’ll be time for your furnace to work overtime heating your home during what promises to be some very cold days. An extreme cold snap is forecast for next week and energy bills generally increase when temperatures drop. This is due to an increase in heating costs…
Christmastime is here. It’s hard to believe that we are only a day or so away from Christmas, but here we are! Winter has also officially arrived, as the winter solstice occurred on Tuesday. The days will only start getting longer as we slowly begin the march to spring and summer. But before we even…
It’s the weekend before Christmas, and all across the Pacific Northwest, not a creature was dry—not even a guest. OK, maybe I should stick to forecasting and let the professionals handle the poem-writing. However, there’s some truth to my lovely poem. It’s definitely felt like the rain hasn’t let up much in the past several…
It is hard to believe that Christmas is only a little over two weeks away. For those of you who are still in the process of buying and wrapping gifts, it’s getting close to crunch time! Most weekends in December are occupied by people doing shopping or attending holiday parties. Whether you’re attending an ugly…
As we mark the start of December, we also mark the start of a new meteorological season. One word that aptly summarizes our meteorological fall as a whole would be wet. Let’s take a look at some of the numbers. Below shows a chart of the total rainfall over the span of September through November…
It’s been quite the November so far in the Pacific Northwest. As I’ve mentioned in previous articles, November is climatologically our wettest month of the year—but not usually this wet. Through the first 17 days of the month, Paine Field has seen 4.45 inches of rainfall, compared to the normal 2.74 inches. This ranks in…
Sound Transit said Sunday it is canceling its Sounder commuter rail N Line service between Everett and Seattle Monday, Nov. 15 as a precautionary measure due to the potential for landslides generated by expected heavy rainfall. The service was also canceled Friday, Nov. 12 for the same reason. Passengers are encouraged to take existing regular…
Yep, it’s definitely November. If you had no idea what month it was, it’s quite possible you could deduce it was November based on how much it’s been raining the past several days. In fact, besides one day of a “trace” of rain, we’ve had measurable rain every day of the month so far…
We’ve officially hit the wettest month of the year and at this point, it’s not leaving us any doubt of that fact. Actually, with the exception of two days this past weekend that were dry, our November wet weather had an early start. We’ve seen measurable rainfall at Paine Field every day since Oct. 20,…
