Tie down your loose outdoor items and hold onto your hats: strong winds will be making their way through the region between later Tuesday and into Wednesday morning as a bomb cyclone moves through.
The National Weather Service has issued a wind advisory for Whatcom and Skagit counties. The advisory is in effect from 2 p.m. Tuesday through 4 a.m. Wednesday.
Gusts could peak at 45 mph in Bellingham and up to 50 mph in Mount Vernon, according to the NWS.
A gale warning has also been issued for the northern inland waters including the San Juan Islands between 4 p.m. Tuesday to 4 a.m. Wednesday. Winds are expected to be between 35 to 40 knots with gusts up to 50 knots.
On top of the heavy winds, the North Cascades and areas above 2,500 feet are under a blizzard warning from 4 p.m. Tuesday through 10 a.m. Wednesday. That includes Darrington and Concrete.
Between 4 inches to a foot of snow could occur in this area and winds could gust up to 60 mph, according to the NWS.
The NWS warns power outages could occur because of the winds and tree limbs could be blown down.
Your midweek forecast:
Tuesday: Mostly cloudy, high near 49. A 30% chance of rain after 3 p.m. Windy with gusts up to 26 mph.
Tuesday night: Rain and low near 41. Breezy with gusts up to 43 mph. Chance of precipitation around 90% with between 1/10 and 1/4 of an inch of new precipitation possible.
Wednesday: Chance of rain before 10 a.m. and then showers likely after 10 a.m. Mostly cloudy with a high near 52. Windy with gusts up to 28 mph. Less than a 1/10 of an inch of new precipitation possible.
Wednesday night: Showers likely before 10 p.m. Mostly cloudy with a low near 40. Windy with gusts up to 24 mph. Less than a 1/10 of an inch of new precipitation possible.
Thursday: Chance of rain before 11 a.m. then a chance of showers between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. Rain likely after 5 p.m. Partly sunny with a high near 52. New precipitation amounts of less than 1/10 of an inch possible.
Annie Todd is CDN’s criminal justice/enterprise reporter; reach her at annietodd@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 130.
