Snow arrives in the Cascades after tumultuous December weather

The Cascades received a fresh delivery of snow to start the weekend.

That's great news for skiers and snowboarders and less awesome for those trying to cross Snoqualmie Pass.

Pack your patience and prepare for winter travel conditions if you’re planning to make the drive. Chains are required on all vehicles except those with all-wheel drive.

In the past 24 hours, the Cascade crest saw about 10 to 11 inches of snow and some of the lower elevations received about 3 to 5 inches, which is a fairly good single-day total, said Reid Wolcott, warning coordination meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Seattle, on Saturday morning.

Showers were tapering off Saturday morning after convergence zone activity brought snow in the Cascades, a dusting in the foothills in places like Sultan and a rain-snow mix in the lowlands. Wind coming off the ocean split around the north and south side of the Olympics and converged again at the Cascades, creating enhanced precipitation in a narrow band in the Puget Sound region, Wolcott said. These convergence zones are pretty common here.

Cooler air moving into the region brought temperatures down around freezing across much of Western Washington. A cold weather advisory was in effect in western Whatcom County through noon for those cold temperatures and wind chills.

Some precipitation may have been felt as scattered flakes mixed in with showers in the lowlands overnight Friday.

Things will start to dry out Saturday, with a chance of morning fog over the next few days and a very slight chance of precipitation across the Olympic Peninsula on Saturday night and Sunday, Wolcott said.

By Wednesday, the region should see a return to a more normal Pacific Northwest winter: Lowland rain and mountain snow, Wolcott said.

This December has been far from normal. It may have been Seattle's warmest December on record. Back-to-back atmospheric rivers walloped the region, causing widespread flooding, forcing evacuations and damaging highways, levees and homes.

Snowpack in the Cascades is at about 79% of normal for this time of year. There haven’t been many opportunities to build snowpack. The atmospheric rivers brought warm air and rain, rather than snow, in the mountains.

The next two to four weeks could also bring above-normal temperatures for most of the Cascades, Wolcott said.

Stevens Pass has set its opening date for Monday, but will only be accessible from the east side. A lack of snow postponed many of the opening dates for Washington's ski resorts, including Stevens, before historic rain, flooding and highway damage cut off or limited access to the ski hills.

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