More snow predicted for Seattle this week Snow came and went Monday, but more may still be on its way

Seattle seemed to escape the Monday morning snows with little trouble.

Snow fell, looked pretty on top of houses and trees for a bit, and then melted away as it so often does. Some areas saw a little more snow fall later in the day, but early predictions for anything significantly more proved unwarranted.

But that isn't the end of the wintery forecasts.

Temperatures this week are expected to hover just above freezing during the day and dip to the high 20s at night, according to National Weather Service forecasts.

That could make for icy roads in the evening and through the night.

And with a little precipitation expected Wednesday night and Thursday, conditions may be ripe for a little (or a lot) more snow in Seattle and the surrounding lowlands.

The National Weather Service expects that snowfall to last until around 11 a.m. Thursday, when it will turn to rain. More rain is predicted daily through the weekend.

Now, here's where things get a little dicey.

Let's look back at the first snow of 2016 to fall in Seattle. Let's look back at the first snow of 2016 to fall in Seattle. Photo: GENNA MARTIN / SEATTLEPI Photo: GENNA MARTIN / SEATTLEPI Image 1 of / 14 Caption Close More snow predicted for Seattle this week 1 / 14 Back to Gallery

While the National Weather Service has Seattle down for around a half-inch or so of snow, the Weather Underground is predicting 5 to 8 inches for Thursday.

Yes, you read that right: 5 to 8 inches of snow. In Seattle. On a weekday.

Whether that materializes or not is up to a number of factors -- the temperatures in the lowlands, the effect of Puget Sound, etc., etc. -- but the short story is that snow is hard to predict around here, something repeatedly noted by local forecaster extraordinaire Cliff Mass.

Meanwhile, the west side of the Cascades is in for another good dumping, following a storm this past weekend that brought 25 or more inches to at least three ski areas.

Thursday and Friday should drop another 10-36 inches on west side ski areas, so don't put those powder skis and snowboards away just yet.

Daniel DeMay covers Seattle culture, business and transportation for seattlepi.com. He can be reached at 206-448-8362 or danieldemay@seattlepi.com. Follow him on Twitter: @Daniel_DeMay.