Bracing winds from the Fraser Valley sent temperatures plummeting to the low 20s this morning as shivering Bellinghamsters experienced near-record cold weather to remind them spring has not arrived quite yet.
“It didn’t set the record, but it’s the second-coldest morning for Feb. 23 in what looks like 74 years of records, so it’s pretty cold,” said Dana Felton, a National Weather Service meteorologist.
The current Feb. 23 record is 19 degrees from 2018, and the previous second-lowest temperature was 22 degrees in 1952.
The temperatures are significantly cold for this late in the winter in Western Washington, Felton said. Cold temperatures hit Sumas, Seattle, Tacoma and Olympia as well.
Residents within these areas should “stay warm and make sure you’ve got your outdoor pipes covered,” Felton said. “For folks that are homeless, of course, this kind of cold is actually pretty dangerous, so we hope that they can find some sort of shelter.”
Whatcom County’s severe weather shelter is open tonight, staffed by volunteers; it might continue to operate if temperatures are cold enough, according to the Whatcom County homeless shelters website. Daytime warming shelters aren’t expected to open if temperatures are above freezing.
The shelter is set up in locker rooms underneath the scoreboard at Civic Field. The county is providing shuttle transportation to the shelter from the Whatcom Transportation Authority station in front of the Bellingham library every 15 to 20 minutes between 6 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Light snacks and water are provided at the shelter, but not full meals. The shuttle will transport guests back downtown between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m.
Temperatures are expected to warm up the rest of the week, the National Weather Service reported. The forecast for Thursday in Bellingham is a low of 24 degrees and a high of 40 degrees. Snow could fall but it is not expected to accumulate.
“Every day, we’ll just be a little bit warmer through the rest of the week,” Felton said.
