Residents of the Pacific Northwest are bracing as Seattle weather will take a turn for the worse tonight. Forecasters are calling for what could be the harshest winter snowstorm in several decades.
Weather.com reports on Seattle's weather, saying a "potential major winter storm" will hit both lower elevations and mountainous areas near the coast beginning Tuesday night, and will move east as far as Montana and the Northern Rockies.
Most of the snow will fall on Wednesday, reports The Seattle Times. Accumulation between six and 14 inches is expected. This means that snowfall could break Seattle's single-day record of 14.9 inches set in 1969.
Even if the storm does not break the record, it could still go down in Seattle weather history by leaving the most snow at Seattle's Sea-Tac Airport since 1985.
Seattlepi.com explains that Seattle can expect warmer weather later on Wednesday. Continued precipitation may turn to rain, and could lead to what meteorologist Cliff Mass has described as "slushmageddon."
Seattle weather, including surprising variations in precipitation between different parts of the city, can be blamed on convergence zones, according to The Seattle Times. The zones occur when "two currents of wind collide at a low elevation" and rise to create more precipitation.
Despite warmer than average temperatures this winter, the midwest tasted its first major snowstorm of the season last week.