Another day of bitter cold, icy driving in Whatcom County. When will rain arrive?

This is a developing story. Check back to bellinghamherald.com for updates.
To sign up for breaking news alerts, click here.

Road conditions in Whatcom County are expected to deteriorate Thursday evening and the city of Bellingham recommended residents take advantage of the decent daytime road conditions to shop and run errands so they can avoid unnecessary travel until conditions improve.

“Weather forecasts indicate up to four inches of snow Thursday night, transitioning to substantial amounts of freezing rain early Friday morning. This combination will likely create very hazardous driving conditions all day Friday as the potential for ice on top of compact snow will be very challenging for road crews to address,” a city news release said.

Wind chill values of -7 degrees were recorded in Western Whatcom County overnight into Thursday morning, Dec. 22. No new snow fell, but the frigid temperatures preserved what was already on the ground.

Interstate 5 showed pavement through much of Whatcom County, according to Washington State Department of Transportation cameras.

“Although the road looks bare, travelers should leave extra space and take it slow,” the agency reminded drivers on social media.

It was 12 degrees, with a wind chill of -5 at Bellingham International Airport at 5:30 a.m. Thursday. That warmed to 18 and 6 by mid-morning.

“A few weather models also forecast possible ice accumulations of up to a tenth of an inch heading into Friday. Travel will be very treacherous!” according to Marty Gray, Bellingham Public Works Operations superintendent of operation.

“Friday will be a very busy day for us as the road conditions are at the worst of the week for most of the day. With this system moving into our region, we will continue the 12 on, 12 off schedule to provide 24-hour snow and ice removal going into the holiday weekend.”

While there hasn’t been any major snowfall in Whatcom since Tuesday, conditions haven’t improved much on the roads, according to Johnson’s Towing Manager Jared Bibic. Snow drifts are becoming a problem, especially north of Bellingham, he said.

Drivers may not notice they are climbing a snow drift until it is too late and they are either stuck in the drift, or drive off the road because they cannot see, Bibic said.

“If we can reach them, we can put the winch on them and pull them out,” Babich said. “If we can’t reach them with the winch line we leave the car there until the snow melts. We do not drive in the snow drifts.”

Bellingham city services, the library and museum opened Thursday, but will be closed Friday and Monday, Dec. 26, for the holiday. Most county library branches operated on normal schedules.

Road2Home continued to operate the Bellingham Severe Weather Day Use Warming Center from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Thursday inside the Bellingham Central Library lecture room. Whatcom County’s overnight severe weather shelter at Civic Field will operate through the end of the week.

Puget Sound Energy is seeing energy consumption increase as temperatures continue to drop and looks to be higher than last year, according to spokesperson Andrew Padula in an email to The Bellingham Herald.

Snow removal

Bellingham’s snow removal crew branched off into the secondary arterials and into some of the residential neighborhoods Wednesday, according to Gray.

Crews used a front-end loader and backhoe to help with snow removal downtown and in Fairhaven.

Smaller subdivisions on the north side of Kline Road had some drifts over 6 feet high, Gray said in an email from the city.

“The good news is that all our snow plow trucks are running strong and fully operational. In the early hours of Thursday morning, two snow plows coordinated their efforts to clear snow routes in the Happy Valley neighborhood. We are coordinating our efforts to clear these streets to allow SSC to have safe garbage collection in the Happy Valley neighborhood,” Gray said.

“The bad news is, the snow is getting harder, and it is difficult to get down to the bare pavement, especially on some of the side streets where cars have been driving on the snow. We will continue to supply the Whatcom Transit Authority and the Bellingham school district with salt and sand as needed.”

The county is facing issues with drifting snow on the 935 miles of road in unincorporated Whatcom County, according to Roland Middleton, Whatcom County Public Works special programs manager, in an email to The Herald Thursday.

“Unfortunately, most vehicles are ill-equipped to be driving in winter conditions. The plows have to stop to get around the stuck vehicle or in some cases (are) unable to get through at all until the vehicle is cleared. Please stay home if you can. If you have to go out, please use extreme caution and stay clear of the plows,” Middleton said.

Also, as snow continues to blow, crews often find they must clear roads more than once.

“Dealing with the stuck vehicles and the drifting snow means we are not able to reach all the roads as soon as we would like. Whatcom County Public Works is working around the clock to get there,” he said.

Whatcom forecast

Freezing rain expected early Friday morning will cause hazardous driving conditions, according to the Whatcom County Emergency Management daily briefing. Temperatures will warm to 39 degrees in Bellingham with rain that will become moderate to heavy at times overnight and into Saturday, Dec. 24.

“Water will pool on roads between the snow plowed on the sides which can lead to hydroplaning. Several weather systems will accelerate snow melt. Nooksack and small streams will rise; how high is to be determined but all of western WA could see flooding potential,” the county warned.

The weather service’s Wednesday, Dec. 21, forecast said there was higher confidence in the arrival of a series of rain events beginning this weekend and continuing through next week.

Freezing spray, especially across the north interior waters, and resulting ice load may make marine vessels heavy and unstable and lead to marine vessel structure damage, the forecast noted.

Flooding concerns

“A rapid warm up, accompanied by rain falling on snow, may lead to enhanced runoff late in the week that could lead to potential urban and river flooding by the weekend,” according to the weather service.

The warmer air could lead to urban flooding while catch basins are cleared of compact snow and ice, Bellingham’s Gray said. “Our drainage systems may not be able to keep up with the increased runoff from the rain and the melting snow. Maintenance supervisors are facilitating a game plan to address flooding as we head into Christmas Eve and Christmas day and next week. It could possibly be an ‘all hands on deck’ for Public Works to run drainage, clear catch basins, unplug culverts, jet stormwater main lines, set up traffic diversions, and manage localized flooding.”

The Whatcom County River and Flood Division is monitoring the forecasts for the Nooksack River and Emergency Management is briefing agencies daily in the county and lower British Columbia, Middleton said.

Reporters Jack Belcher and Alyse Smith contributed to this report.