Check current weather conditions

It’s going to be cold around Western Washington for the next couple of days, but the National Weather Service’s Mike McFarland says it’s par for the course.

“We’ve had a couple of mild winters so we’re maybe getting back to normal for a change,” McFarland said. “If we had El Nino, then a lot of times you get a mild winter. With neutral conditions or a weak La Nina like we have then you have a good chance for a normal winter and a couple of cold snaps.”

In defense of meteorologists: Don’t get mad at forecasts

The National Weather Service says to expect a few more days of freezing temperatures, during which Seattle may not get above freezing. That hasn’t happened since December 2008. Highs will be in the 20s to low 30s and lows in the teens and 20s, possibly through Thursday.

In areas north of Seattle, including Whatcom and Skagit counties, temperatures are likely to be even colder, especially with the wind chill factor. The Weather Service issued a Wind Advisory for Monday morning. Sustained winds of 20 to 35 mph and gusts as high as 50 mph are making for wind chill readings in the single digits, according to the Weather Service.

McFarland says temperatures will gradually warm up as we get closer to the weekend.

Forecasts for later this week call for a weak system that will bring rain and possibly light snow to some areas. Moisture will be limited, according to the National Weather Service.

We’ll probably stay mostly dry until Saturday when things start to warm up.

2016 enters climate ‘hall of fame’

The National Weather Service in Seattle says 2016 will enter the climate record “hall of fame.” December was Seattle’s coldest month since December 2009, but we also experienced the warmest April and November on record. In fact, according to the NWS, Seattle had its second warmest year on record.

The NWS reports 2015, 2016, and 2014 were the warmest years on record — all by large margins — dating back to the 1890s.

To put it into greater perspective, the NWS says that December 2016 averaged only a degree warmer in Seattle than in December 2008. However, there was snow on the ground in Seattle for two consecutive weeks in Seattle that year.