EVERETT — The scant snow you woke up to Monday may be just the beginning.
Areas east of Lake Stevens had about an inch of snow by Monday morning, the National Weather Service reported. How quaint! Parts of Gold Bar and Index got 4 inches.
As a new weather system moves in from the south, a winter storm warning will be in effect for much of Western Washington from 7 p.m. Monday to 7 p.m. Tuesday, according to the weather service.
On the U.S. 2 corridor, the farther east means more snow in the forecast. Everett was predicted to get 2 to 4 inches Tuesday. In Monroe, it’s up to 3 to 5. Gold Bar: 3 to 7. Near Baring: 8 to 12.
Along I-5, in cities like Edmonds, Marysville and Arlington, the snow potential looked similar to Everett, said Kirby Cook, science and operations officer for the National Weather Service in Seattle.
Most of Tuesday’s snow was expected to come before 4 p.m., according to the weather service.
Another dusting could arrive Thursday, just three days before Christmas, but the total accumulations were forecast to be less than an inch.
As for the Christmas Eve and Christmas Day snow that Washington’s own Bing Crosby crooned about, rain is in the forecast for Saturday and Sunday. That could lead to flood conditions as the existing snow melts away, Cook said.
“Any snow that’s around is just icing on the cake,” he said.
But the even more significant detail to look out for this week may be the temperatures.
Nighttime lows Wednesday in Monroe and Arlington, for example, were forecast at 7 degrees. That’s Fahrenheit, not Celsius.
In Everett, the low on Wednesday was predicted to be 10 degrees. Lows on Tuesday and Thursday were expected to be a few degrees warmer after the Wednesday cold patch. Highs on Tuesday will only barely escape freezing in a few parts of the county, according to the weather service. In the days following, they might not even get out of the 20s.
The lows might reach the record-setting, frightful winter of 2008. On Dec. 20 that year, temperatures dipped below 11 degrees in Everett, according to Weatherbase.com. The historic average is a low of about 36 degrees.
On Dec. 21, the record was set in 1998 at 19 degrees, according to Weatherbase. The forecast was for 10 degrees this Wednesday.
“It’s going to be unusually cold through Friday,” Cook said, adding Snohomish County could even see record-setting cold through Thursday.
Temperatures will tick up over the weekend, as highs and lows were predicted to sit around the 40s in Everett, for example.
Snohomish County’s cold weather shelters usually open on nights with lows forecasted below 34 degrees. There are shelters in Everett, Marysville, Monroe, Lynnwood and Snohomish. Local libraries and a few other spaces, like the Edmonds Waterfront Center, can serve as daytime warming centers.
On Monday night, 134 people stayed at the county’s cold weather shelters, said Tyler Verda, human services program planner for the county. When snow hit late last month, 129 stayed at the shelters.
At Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Marysville, the shelter “hit a milestone” Monday night, shelter coordinator Nathan Ray said. It opened three beds, expanding capacity to 28, in the face of increasing demand. Of the 28, only one was left vacant Monday.
On Tuesday night, the Marysville shelter, opened last year amid worries over no such space in north Snohomish County, planned to open up two more beds, bringing the total to 30. Including plans for Tuesday, it’s been open 13 of the 19 nights this month. In November, it was 20 of 30. They haven’t yet had to turn anyone away.
“We’re ready in case we get hit,” Ray said.
Of the guests, the Marysville shelter has seen a surprising need from female guests. He said the standard is 18% to 25% of all guests. It’s consistently been 35% to 45% there. And lots of the guests live in their cars, but without heat, that doesn’t provide much respite from the cold, Ray said.
As someone who has worked in disaster relief, including the Oso landslide, for two decades, Ray said nothing compares to his work at the cold weather shelter in Marysville.
“I’ve done a lot of things in my life and this is definitely the most rewarding,” he said Monday. “This is a more slow-moving and permanent disaster.”
Cook, the weather service officer, encouraged residents to avidly check forecasts, as they can change dramatically over the coming days. If you plan to travel for the holidays, make sure to be checking those predictions.
He said: “If you don’t need to drive and get around, I wouldn’t.”
Jake Goldstein-Street: 425-339-3439; jake.goldstein-street@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @GoldsteinStreet.
More cold weather shelter information
Visit snohomish-county-public-safety-hub-snoco-gis.hub.arcgis.com/pages/cold-weather-shelters for a rundown of all the cold weather shelters in the area.
Everett Family Cold Weather Shelter
5126 S Second Avenue.
Doors open from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Contact speterson@egmission.org for more information.
Everett
First Baptist Church at 1616 Pacific Avenue.
Doors open from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Call 425-740-2550 for more information.
Marysville
Bethlehem Lutheran Church at 7215 51st Avenue NE.
Doors open from 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Call 425-686-9272 for more information.
Snohomish
Snohomish Evangelical Free Church at 210 Avenue B.
Doors open from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Call 425-535-0000 for more information.
Monroe
New Hope Fellowship at 1012 W Main Street.
Doors open from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Shuttle to shelter departs from Sultan Library at 7:45 p.m.
Call 425-535-0000 for more information.
South County Shelter
Maple Park Lutheran Church at 17620 60th Avenue W in Lynnwood.
Opens at 7 p.m.
Shuttle to shelter from Lynnwood City Hall at 7:00 p.m., Trinity Lutheran Church at 7:05 p.m. and the west of Highway 99 and 172nd Street at 7:20 p.m.
Call 206-743-9843 for more information.
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