Whatcom County sees first substantial snow of winter; accumulations expected through Monday
Snow began falling a little before 7 a.m. Saturday in areas south and east of Bellingham, the first substantial snowfall of the winter season.
More snow is forecast through Monday afternoon, the National Weather Service said in an online briefing. A winter weather advisory is in effect for the Whatcom County lowlands.
At least 1 to 3 inches of additional snow is possible from Saturday night to noon Monday in western Whatcom County, meteorologist Harrison Rademacher of the National Weather Service said in the online forecast discussion.
“(A) majority of the snow showers expected from tonight through late Monday morning will produce some snow accumulations. Due the nature of the coverage of the showers, some locations may not receive snow at all, and some may see more snow than others,” Rademacher said.
Cold air from British Columbia, sweeping into Whatcom County in a weather pattern called a Fraser Outflow, will keep temperatures colder than normal into next week, the weather service said.
Daytime highs will be in the 30s with overnight lows in the 20s and possibly in the teens.
About to 2 feet of snow was expected the North Cascades. Meteorologists were warning of extreme avalanche danger in the Mount Baker wilderness.
On Saturday morning, bands of snow were sweeping from the south as temperatures hovered around the freezing mark. About an inch of snow was sticking to the ground in the Sudden Valley community, with lesser amounts elsewhere.
Roads were mostly wet and passable in the Bellingham area, according to social media photos and Washington State Department of Transportation traffic cameras. A few crashes were reported.
Social media showed photos of a Whatcom Transportation Authority bus that slid sideways in the Geneva neighborhood, blocking Austin Street on the steep hill where it connects with Lake Louise Road.
A crash was blocking one lane of southbound Interstate 5 south of Bellingham at North Lake Samish Road, WSDOT reported at is website.
Randy Small of Lynden, who operates the Whatcom County Weather page on Facebook, began a livestream tour that showed light snow north of Bellingham about 8 a.m.
“Boom! South of Smith (Road) Definitely coming down here. Beautiful, fluffy wet snow. Really coming down here,” Small told more than 400 viewers.
“Looks like the Bellingham and Everett area are experiencing some decent snow this morning! Flakes will be flying in the bands of showers out there this morning, so take care on slippery surfaces and roadways,” the National Weather Service tweeted about 8:30 a.m. Saturday.
This story was originally published February 1, 2025 at 9:10 AM with the headline "Whatcom County sees first substantial snow of winter; accumulations expected through Monday."
