The forecast is that three separate storms will occur in the region from Thursday to Monday, with possible record attacks of snow, blizzards and chills below zero.
For cities like Portland and Seattle, any of these weather elements is at least unusual, if not rare.
The city of Portland averages about 10 centimeters of snow per year, while Seattle is usually just over 15 centimeters. Both cities could see more than a year of snow before Valentine’s Day.
First snowfall in almost a decade
The first round of wintry weather is scheduled to arrive on Thursday afternoon, with a storm spreading through the state of Oregon.
This system has 10 million people under winter weather warnings in the Pacific Northwest, with as much as 5 to 5 inches of snow as possible for the Portland subway through Friday afternoon, with higher values of 6 to 10 inches predicted in the Hood River region.
Here, gusts close to the force of a hurricane will be combined with blinding snowfall to the sound of nearly a foot of fresh snow on Friday afternoon.
“Traveling will be a challenge at times, especially from late Thursday afternoon to Friday morning. Widespread blizzard can significantly reduce visibility to 1/4 of a mile or less, ”said the National Weather Service’s office in Portland.
To the north, in Seattle, today it seems to remain quieter, usually with less than 1 inch of snow in the lower areas on the north side of Puget Sound.
However, places south of Puget Sound, including Tacoma and Pierce counties, could see up to two to three inches of snow falling, with as many isolated amounts as possible.
A year of snow in a single day for Seattle
The highly successful snow event will arrive on Friday through Saturday, moving closer to Washington state and setting the stage for a more generalized blizzard.
“Although there are still uncertainties, despite being close to the start of the event, this event will aim to provide more snow to more areas of the area,” said the NWS Seattle office.
That’s when the combination of the storm track, humidity and cold air can work together to produce up to 7 to 10 inches on the Seattle subway and another 7 to 7 inches on the Portland subway.
The impacts can be significant, since the system is expected to produce real snow during the night shift in Seattle.
For some historical context, Seattle would need a little more than 7 inches of snow on Friday to put it among the 10 snowiest days on record.
The city most recently recorded 6.4 inches of snow on February 8, 2019, but even these types of snow days are few and far between for Seattle.
These totals are exceeded by the totals predicted at the highest elevations of the Cascades in Washington and northern Oregon.
Here, the forecast is that the snow accumulates up to 2 to 3 feet until Valentine’s Day, making the trip complicated for those planning to cross the passages in the mountains of the region. Although penetrating gusts are expected at these higher altitudes, cities like Portland and Seattle will also be hit by gusts of 40 to 40 mph as these storms pass, bringing chills in the respective cities sometimes even teenagers.
In cities like Multnomah Falls, Oregon, on the Columbia River Gorge, venture outside and you’ll be greeted by bursts of 40 to 60 mph and blinding snow at the height of storms.
The evolution of this second storm determines how much cold air will remain in place for the arrival of the third and final storm of this winter pattern.
A third chance for snow on Valentine’s Day
The final act of the three storms is scheduled to take place from late Sunday to Monday.
Although the forecast is that unusual cold air will last until Valentine’s Day, the jury has yet to decide how cold the air mass will be and whether it would be enough to withstand low-lying snow in Portland and Seattle.
At this point, the models suggest at least a mixture of rain and snow, as the triad of winter storms comes to an end.
“Although many thought that winter may have failed us, it looks like it was just taking a little break,” says NWS Portland.
CNN meteorologists Monica Garrett and Michael Guy contributed to this report.