Parade of storms, Arctic blast to wallop Northwest and northern Rockies
A series of storms will spread rain and heavy mountain snow across the Northwest and northern Rockies ahead of an Arctic outbreak, AccuWeather meteorologists say.
The first of multiple storms moved from over the Pacific Ocean into the Northwest and British Columbia through Tuesday night, bringing rain, snow and strong wind gusts as far east as the northern Rockies.
"Strong winds combined with heavy snowfall in the mountains can lead to near zero visibility at times as well as causing difficult, if not impossible, travel across the mountains," said AccuWeather Meteorologist Andrew Kienzle.
Blizzard warnings have been issued for the Cascade Mountains in Oregon and Washington.
As the stormy pattern persists through the week, heavy snow will continue across the Northwest and northern Rockies, allowing a swath of accumulating snow to fall from the Cascades and Sierra Nevada into parts of Utah and western Wyoming. Snow levels are expected to be below 2,000 feet through much of the week, allowing snow to accumulate across some of the lower slopes of the coastal ranges.
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"Some of the highest snowfall totals so far this season are expected this week with the possibility for widespread totals between 24-48 inches at pass level across the Oregon and Washington Cascades," Kienzle said.
It is possible that snow not only can mix in with rain at times across some of the I-5 cities, including Seattle and Portland, but could be locally heavy snow with possible ice, depending on the track of the storm. The most recent time that snow accumulated in Seattle was on Feb. 26, 2023 while Portland last had snow accumulate on Feb. 22, 2023.
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AccuWeather meteorologists say that the coldest air so far this season is expected across the western U.S. late week. The jet stream will plunge southward, allowing Arctic air to surge across the western half of the country.
In the coldest areas, temperatures may struggle to rise above zero during the day across the northern Rockies and can dip as much as 30 degrees below zero at night.
The colder air in place can result in snowfall across lower elevations across the region as another storm is slated to move onshore into the Northwest into the weekend. Check AccuWeather for more updates on the weekend storm.
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