Parts of Pierce County might see light snowfall from early Thursday through Saturday, National Weather Service officials said Tuesday.
The change in weather would be starting 24 hours after strong winds in the area were expected to die down.
Meteorologists issued a wind advisory in effect until 4 a.m. today for Western Washington lowlands. They predicted sustained winds of 20 to 35 miles per hour and gusts of 45 to 50 mph.
While widespread damage wasn’t expected, the advisory said power outages were possible and that the winds could bring down small trees.
Come midnight Thursday, the South Sound could see scattered snowfall until Saturday, in amounts of less than an inch each day, Weather Service meteorologist Johnny Burg said.
“At 500 feet (above sea level) and above, you can expect to have snow falling instead of rain,” he said.
That includes areas such as South Hill and parts of East Pierce County, including Bonney Lake.
The central Cascades were expected to have an additional 5 to 10 inches of snow and possibly freezing rain by this morning.
A winter weather advisory was in effect until 10 p.m. Tuesday, and hazardous driving conditions were expected in areas such as Stevens and Snoqualmie passes.
A quarter-inch of ice was possible before the precipitation was expected to switch to rain late Tuesday, according to the Weather Service.
Meteorologists said a few more inches of snow could fall in the mountains this morning.
An avalanche warning was issued until Tuesday night in back country areas of the Cascades and the Olympics.
Snowfall and hazardous driving conditions will be possible throughout today in the south Cascades, and until noon in the north, where the heaviest snowfall was expected.
Alexis Krell: 253-597-8268
alexis.krell@thenewstribune.com
blog.thenewstribune.com/crime
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