How Much Snow? See Estimates For Storm Headed For Puget Sound

SEATTLE, WA - When reliable meteorologists start tossing around words like "major" and "scary," you might want to pay attention.

Meteorologists have already weighed in on if we're getting a snowstorm this weekend (and if you want to know why, check out this explanation). Now they're weighing in on how much we'll get. Forecasters are able to make more stable predictions the closer we get, and there's less than 48 hours before the storm is expected to begin.

So what are they seeing as far as snow totals?

The National Weather Service thinks the Seattle area will get 2 to 3 inches by Sunday. Areas to the south - roughly Tacoma to Olympia - could get between 4 and 6 inches. The Everett area could see between 4 and 6 inches. The mountain passes could get between 6 and 8 inches.

But forecast models differ. UW meteorologist Cliff Mass, reading the European Center Model, sees up to 6 inches in Seattle. That same model shows about 5 inches for all areas between Olympia and Everett, in fact.

"[T]here is going to be a major snow event over much of the Pacific Northwest starting late Friday and continuing into the weekend - a much larger snow event than occurred on Sunday night/Monday morning of this week," he wrote on Wednesday.

The outlook is so bad, some organizations are already canceling events planned for Saturday, including the Issaquah Senior Center activity night and a father-daughter dance in Lakewood. King County even took the step of asking voters to mail in ballots ASAP for the Feb. 12 election to avoid weather-related delays.

"The snow and wind forecast for Friday and Saturday looks scary, but [preparing] now can put you at ease," the NWS wrote on Twitter Wednesday.

Patch file photo/Neal McNamara