Snow fell (but didn’t stick) in Everett, and more is forecast

Published 4:23 pm Monday, February 8, 2021

EVERETT — Those dreaming of a white Valentine’s Day have a better shot at seeing snow this week than over the December holiday season. A cold front from Canada is headed for the Puget Sound region, and it is forecast to bring the lowest temperatures the region has seen to date this winter, as well as a chance of snow throughout the week.

Light snow made a brief cameo in downtown Everett on Monday afternoon, without accumulation, before moving east toward Lake Stevens, according to the National Weather Service in Seattle.

Temperatures in Everett are expected to be the coldest Thursday and Friday, with a low of 20 degrees Thursday night. A chance of snow will persist through the end of the week, with the highest probability at 40% on Thursday.

Mike McFarland, a meteorologist with the weather service, said this winter has been unusually moderate.

“What’s interesting about this winter is that it’s a La Niña, yet it’s been mild all winter. We were a little overdue for a cold snap,” McFarland said.

La Niña is a weather pattern that occurs roughly every 3 to 5 years on the Pacific Ocean. It refers to the cooling of surface temperatures across the central and eastern equatorial regions of the Pacific, and it can have a significant effect on weather across the entire planet. Historically, a La Niña year has often meant colder-than-normal winter temperatures for the Puget Sound region. But this year’s weather suggests another climate force may be at play, according to McFarland.

“The sea surface temperatures over the Pacific are the right pattern for a La Niña event, but the fact of the matter is a lot of the Northeast Pacific was several degrees warmer than normal this year,” he said. “Maybe because the ocean has been a little warm, it took months for that heat to get out of its system, and now finally here at the end of winter, we’re building up a cold enough air mass in Canada that some of it can spill our way, since we don’t have all this excess mild air coming up from the Pacific. That’s a crude simplification of what goes on with the weather.”

Multiple cold weather shelters will be open in Snohomish County for those who need a place to stay. Location and contact information for shelters can be found on the county website at www.snohd.org/471/Cold-Weather-Shelters.

Highway closure and safety information, including condition updates on Snoqualmie and Stevens passes, can be found at the Washington Department of Transportation website at wsdot.wa.gov.

The Snohomish County Public Utility District has several suggestions for coping with the cold:

■ Never leave a garden hose attached to the faucet in freezing weather. Disconnect and drain hoses.

■ Insulate back-flow devices and outside faucets with newspaper, rags or other insulating material. Cover with plastic and secure with string or wire.

■ Let cold water drip from any faucet served by exposed pipes.

■ Locate the main shutoff valve to your home and make sure household members know how to turn off the water in case pipes burst.

■ Practice zone heating and lighting by heating only occupied rooms and turning off lights in rooms not being used.

■ Open shades on south-facing windows during the day to use the natural warmth of the sun to warm rooms.

■ Wash laundry in cold water to save almost 90% of the energy needed to run a normal load on hot.

Herald reporter Ellen Dennis: ellen.dennis@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @reporterellen.