SEATTLE — A cold modified arctic air mass has settled in across western Washington bringing record frigid temperatures.
KING 5 has activated First Alert for this weather event, which could affect lives, property, or travel in the Pacific Northwest region. During this event, the First Alert Weather Team will bring you the latest information to keep you and your family safe.
The chances of additional accumulating snow have largely diminished for Seattle and Everett until this weekend.
Though not everyone sees snow, everyone will see the frigid temperatures that are running upwards of 20 degrees below where we should be for this time of the year.
High temperatures will stay in the 30s through Friday for most of the lowlands of western Washington.
Temperatures this cold will set new daily low and high-temperature records. Sea-Tac Airport dropped to 22 degrees Friday morning breaking the old record for Feb. 24 of 24 degrees set in 2011.
The normal high temperature is in the lower 50s for many areas.
The overnight lows will be even colder with everyone falling into the teens and lower 20s through the rest of the work week.
Elevated winds during this timeframe will drop wind chills into the teens for most of western Washington with parts of western Whatcom County experiencing wind chills near zero by Friday morning as the Fraser valley outflow winds remain enhanced.
High temperatures are expected to warm slightly Friday, reaching the mid to upper 30s, which is about 3-5 degrees warmer than Thursday.
Additional light lowland snow is possible overnight Saturday into early Sunday morning for the Puget Sound lowlands, including in Seattle and Everett, as a Pacific frontal system moves into the region. Accumulations of a trace to 3 inches of snow is possible.
Staying safe amid freezing temps
As people look to keep warm during these temperatures, there are some important safety tips to keep in mind.
Shoreline Fire Department Public Information and Education Officer Michelle Pidduck said to make sure smoke and carbon monoxide detectors are working, ensure circuits are not overloaded with heat devices to avoid electrical fires, and keep space heaters plugged into the wall, three feet from anything combustible and on a hard surface, not carpet.
"We got that burst of sunshine and it gave us the false sense that winter was done -- it is not and so making sure that we're hyper aware of these things, not trying to overload your circuits, making sure if you do have extension cords, those are supposed to be temporary, don't try to plug those in long term," Pidduck said. "If you do have those make sure it's not near any couches, towels, people don't think about trying to dry near a heater. Make sure you have that 3-foot distance, make sure it's away from curtains, make sure it's not near anything that has potential [to catch fire]."
It's also important to prepare plants for the weather. Jason Billingsley, the nursery horticulturist at Kent East Hill Nursery, said that includes making sure plants are well-watered, which will make them less stressed and less likely to suffer damage in cold weather.
"The second thing is any plants that you have in containers that can be moved, you can move them into a garage temporarily or move them into a house, into a building with a few extra degrees of cold protection," Billingsley said. "Finally, cover your plants that you can't move, with frost protection cloth. It basically acts as a hat for your plants, because a hat makes a big difference -- it gets real cold, real quickly if you don't have a hat on and it's the same way for plants too, so make sure your plants have a hat."
Billingsley said staff at local garden centers can also provide detailed advice for handling specific types of plants.
