Heavy rain, strong winds and freezing temps expected in Seattle area

Winter is coming, Seattle!

The National Weather Service is forecasting strong to damaging wind gusts, heavy rainfall and well-below-normal temperatures for the Puget Sound region Friday into next week.

This recipe calls for snow in the passes and potential river flooding, said Jeff Michalski, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Seattle.

Expect heavy rainfall across the region through Saturday evening, with the heaviest amounts reaching 4-6 inches over the Olympics and Cascade mountains.

As strong winds arrive through Friday night, localized power outages are possible. The highest winds will be along the coast and in areas north of Everett, Michalski said, as well as down the Strait of Juan de Fuca on Friday.

Snow is expected in the North Cascades and areas above 4,000 feet in elevation. Highway 20 in the North Cascades was set to close at 6 p.m. Thursday from milepost 134 to 171 due to avalanche danger. Washington State Department of Transportation will assess reopening the highway early next week.

But wait, there’s more!

Behind this weekend system, a cooler air mass with temperatures in the 30s and 40s settles into the region. We’ll cool off even more on Tuesday and Wednesday with lows in the 20s and a small chance of lowland precipitation.

“Certainly the air mass is cool enough to support any snowfall, but the question is whether or not there is any lingering precipitation,” Michalski said.