Washington’s winter weather used to be a somewhat gloomy, but acceptable, with a few months of rain and clouds. These days, a better motto for our weather is “expect the unexpected”, that’s certainly what happened this past weekend and what we have in store for this week. Here’s a look at Washington’s big weather events of the weekend and what Seattleites can expect in the forecast this week.

Unprecedented levels of snow seem to be the new norm. The nation’s ultimate Christmas town, Leavenworth, declared a state of emergency due to unmanageable levels of snow this past weekend. In a news release distributed on January 7th, the town recorded “36” of snow in under 24 hours on January 6th, 2022” with some microclimate pockets receiving up to 48” within 48 hours.

It’s enough snow that the town has requested aid from the National Guard for assistance with “citizen welfare checks, food delivery, general snow cleanup, and private driveway snow removal.”

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In theory, these high levels of snow may seem enticing, but don’t plan any mountain trips soon because Steven’s Pass still remains closed due to large amounts of snow and ice. That being said, Snoqualmie and Blewett passes are open for now and the DOT is asking drivers to exercise extreme caution.

While Seattle saw plenty of sun on Sunday, the first week of January was pretty wet. Wet enough to record one of the wettest first weeks of January in 78 years.

What did that do in the city? It actually caused a few landslides, most notably taking out a larger home on Magnolia’s Perkins Lane.

Here’s another one near Sea-Tac.

NWS’s 5 day forecast for Western Washington doesn’t look much more promising. The forecast is relatively normal other than heavy levels of rain on Tuesday & Wednesday. Psst all that rain does include more landslide risks as well as flooding.

Now we don’t want to leave you with a negative outlook on a Monday, so rejoice knowing that Friday is supposed to be pretty dry. Not only that, but the longer term forecast looks warmer and drier than usual. Have a great week, and if you capture any unusual weather pics be sure to tag us in them!

Curiocity Staff

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