Rain, frost, snow and low temperatures are expected during the weekend.
Photo: Mariela Lombard / El Diario NY
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The cold and snowfall remain in the United States. By next weekend, there will be truly wintry weather across the country. But for the Northwest, it will be something special when three winter storms hit each other in a few days.
The National Weather Service (NWS) predicted that the cold Arctic air mass that is covering much of the country will continue to contribute to winter rainfall from coast to coast.
Heavy snow and ice may be present in the Pacific Northwest, while snow and freezing rain will affect parts of the plains, the south, and the mid-Atlantic. Record low temperatures are possible on the weekend.
To the northwest, In the states of Washington, Oregon and Northern California, three separate storms are forecast to follow each other in the region from Thursday to Monday, with possible episodes of record snow, blizzards and freezing winds below zero, according to NWS.
The states of Washington and Oregon will receive the strongest of these storms.
A series of winter storms will result in widespread snowfall accumulations across the higher terrain and into the lowlands of Washington and Oregon into the weekend. https://t.co/eh5HNSxJpY pic.twitter.com/LvwfdKGm6h
– National Weather Service (@NWS) February 11, 2021
For cities like Portland and Seattle, any of these weather elements is at least unusual, if not rare.
The city of Portland averages about 4 inches of snow per year, while Seattle generally sees a little over 6 inches. Both cities could see more than a year of snow before Valentine’s Day, CNN reported.
Northern California also has a share in winter storms
In the following tweet, there are the updated snow totals for the weather system moving in the area from today through Friday morning. Mountain travel delays, chain checks, and slippery roads are expected at times. The Weather Service advises that if you must travel, have an emergency kit and allow enough extra time.
???? Radar update ????
Rain and high elevation mountain snow continue to spread southward across the area. Rain looks to continue in the Valley through late tonight, with lingering foothill/mountain showers through tomorrow morning. #cawx pic.twitter.com/GMPdfjwTpG
– NWS Sacramento (@NWSSacramento) February 11, 2021
First snow storm in almost a decade
The first round of winter weather is scheduled to arrive Thursday afternoon, when a fast-moving storm engulfs the state of Oregon.
This system has 10 million people on winter weather alerts in the Pacific Northwest, with up to 2 to 5 inches of snow possible for the Portland metro through Friday afternoon, and higher amounts of 6 to 10 inches are forecast in the Hood River region.
The first snow storm warning in nearly seven years was issued by the Portland National Weather Service on Wednesday night. for the western Columbia River Gorge, east of Portland.
Here, near-hurricane-force gusts will be combined with blinding snowfall totaling nearly 1 foot of fresh snow by Friday afternoon.
The Friday night & Saturday storm continues to be the most likely time period that will see a significant period of freezing rain and/or snow for parts of NW OR & SW WA. Most of the coast & southeastern portions of the Willamette Valley should see rain. (1/4) #pdxtst #orwx #wawx pic.twitter.com/QzStG1SCsL
– NWS Portland (@NWSPortland) February 12, 2021
“Sometimes traveling will be a challenge, mainly from Thursday afternoon to Friday morning. Widespread blowing snow could significantly reduce visibility to 1/4 mile or less, ”the National Weather Service office in Portland warned.
A year of snow in a single day for Seattle
The Seattle snowfall event will kick off Friday through Saturday, drawing closer to Washington state and setting the stage for more intense widespread snowfall.
That’s when the combination of the storm’s path, humidity, and cold air can work together to produce up to 7 to 10 inches in the Seattle subway and an additional 3 to 7 inches in the Portland subway.
The evolution of this second winter storm influences the amount of cold air that will remain in place for the arrival of the third and last storm of this winter pattern.
A wet & cool pattern is expected the rest of the week & into early next week, with periods of rain & mountain snow. Sunday is expected to be the best travel day of the holiday weekend, with another system bringing potentially more mountain snow on Washington’s Birthday. #CAwx pic.twitter.com/D5UkbBmcYK
– NWS Sacramento (@NWSSacramento) February 11, 2021
A third chance of snow on Valentine’s Day
The last of the three storms is expected to occur from Sunday through Monday.
Although the unusually cold air is forecast to linger until Valentine’s Day, it is not yet known how cold the air mass will be and if it could be enough to bring more snow to Portland and Seattle.
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