Freezing rain coats western Washington in ice. Here's what to expect next
Officials across the Puget Sound region asked the public to stay off the roads and delay non-essential travel Friday after freezing rain-coated roads and sidewalks with ice, creating hazardous travel conditions.
The ice will remain a concern overnight and driving will continue to be difficult, especially over the mountain passes through the day Saturday, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).
Temperatures will begin to warm Saturday and with it comes the potential for flooding over the weekend. The NWS issued a Flood Watch starting late Friday through Sunday night for Mason, Skagit, Whatcom, and Snohomish counties.
RELATED: Western Washington forecast
The weight of accumulating ice on trees and power lines also caused outages across the regionFriday.
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The worst of the ice storm ended by early Friday afternoon, according to KOMO News Meteorologist Kristin Clark.The freezing rain started to gradually transition to rain across the region from south to north Friday afternoon. Lowland areas across Whatcom County are expected to be the last to transition to rain.
While temperatures gradually rose above freezing in the afternoon, there were still pockets of cold air prolonging freezing drizzle in some isolated spots across the region.
RELATED: Transit services suspended or delayed Friday due to ice, road conditions
A glaze of ice on most surfaces from the freezing rain caused transit service across the Puget Sound region to be suspended Friday. Road conditions are expected to gradually improve later Friday as temperatures warm.
The freezing rain not only created slick roads Friday, but many sidewalks and steps were also coated with ice. Susan Gregg with UW Medicine told KOMO News just after 12:30 p.m. around 35 patients were taken to emergency departments at Harborview Medical Center and University of Washington’s two campuses in Montlake and Northwest with injuries related to falling on the ice. Those numbers doubled by the late afternoon, according to Gregg.
Gregg said many of the injuries were minor, but some of the serious injuries involved head injuries and leg and wrist fractures.
“We encourage people to wait for the weather to warm up before walking outside on icy sidewalks and roads,” Gregg said.
Western Washington will be under a Winter Storm Warning until Friday evening. The NWS said lingering mixed precipitation, including freezing rain, was possible in some areas or northwest and west-central Washington, but little or no accumulation was expected.
The NWS said less than an 0.10 of an inch of ice accumulation was expected in San Juan County and in western Whatcom and Skagit counties through 10 p.m. Friday when the Winter Weather Warning expired.
The heaviest icing on Friday was expected in east King County and through the Cascade passes. The freezing rain and its impacts are expected to persist longer in the mountain passes.
A Winter Storm Warning is also in effect for the Cascades from Whatcom to Lewis counties until 4 a.m. Sunday. Heavy, mixed precipitation is expected, with additional snow accumulations of 1-3 inches between 0.25 to 0.75 inches of ice possible, the NWS said.
The warning includes both Snoqualmie and Stevens passes.
PHOTOS: Icy scenes around western Washington
Holiday travel over the mountains will still be problematic as freezing rain lingers through the Kittitas Valley and Columbia River Gorge well into the holiday weekend, Clark said.Click here to check the latest mountain pass conditions on the Washington State Department of Transportation website.
“All in all, conditions are icy out there,” the NWS said. “It`s best to avoid driving if possible.”
As temperatures slowly increase into the upper 30s and low 40s through Saturday morning, the melting snow and ice also increases the chances of standing puddles and urban street flooding across the region.
The chances of a white Christmas will be rapidly diminishing as widespread rain chips away at the deep snowpack in the north Sound, Clark said.
The Methow Valley, our favored cold spot in the state, stands the best chance of a white Christmas as several inches of snow blankets Winthrop and Twisp for Santa's arrival Saturday night.
The cold and ice will be a distant memory come Christmas Day, according to Clark. High temperatures are expected to surpass 50 degrees Sunday afternoon, with the snow level jumping to 8,000 feet in the Cascades.
Melting mountain snow will increase the runoff into our creeks, streams, and rivers, and gusty winds will increase the avalanche danger in the backcountry by next week.
Next week: Goodbye snow, hello rain
Western Washington isn’t free from active weather patterns just yet. The NWS said a series of atmospheric river-like systems are expected to move across the region next week.
The next system will move into the region Sunday into Monday, with another system expected to arrive on Tuesday.
As of Friday, the NWS said each incoming system could bring additional rounds of heavy rainfall to the region. The heavy rain and melting snow in the lowland and mountains will increase the threat of river flooding.
There is also a concern for coastal flooding this weekend and into next week. The NWS said high tides and low atmospheric pressure may cause tidal overflow along the coast and some areas of Puget Sound.
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