Heavy Rain, High Winds And Mountain Snow: Puget Sound Forecast

SEATTLE — Western Washington is bracing for a blast of wintry weather, with high winds and rain in the forecast for the lowlands and heavy snow expected over the mountain passes into the weekend.

A wind advisory will be in effect from 7 p.m. Friday to 10 a.m. Saturday across Puget Sound, with gusts as high as 45 mph expected in the Seattle area. With the ground still saturated from recent rains, the National Weather Service said the potential for downed trees and power outages will be higher than usual with the latest storm.

The lowlands can also expect periods of heavy rain starting late Friday afternoon, before transitioning to more showery conditions through Saturday.

At elevations above 2,500 feet, a winter storm warning will be in effect from 6 p.m. Friday until at least early Sunday, with more than a foot of new snow likely in Snoqualmie Pass and more than two feet possible at Stevens Pass. Mount Rainier and Mount Baker will pick up even more.

"Good geographic westerly flow aloft and low snow levels will keep the snow piling up the mountains," NWS Seattle wrote Friday. "Right now, the winter storm warning goes until 4 a.m. Sunday. There is a good chance this will need to be extended through the remainder of Sunday. New snow totals from [Friday night] through late Sunday night of 3 to 4 feet very possible for Mount Baker and Mount Rainier."

The National Weather Service warned travel over the passes "could be very difficult to impossible" during the storm. Snoqualmie Pass has already closed several times this week due to crashes.

While temperatures will remain chilly around Puget Sound, failing to escape the 40s in the day and the 30s at night, the weekend storm is not expected to bring any snowfall to the lowlands. However, extended forecasts show the possibility for low elevation snow returning to the forecast by the middle of next week.