Snow and ice expected tonight; here's what to expect

The good news: Today will see temperatures above freezing for the first time since Wednesday night! The bad news: the National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Warning for Whatcom County starting at 10 p.m. tonight and running through 10 p.m. tomorrow, Wednesday, Jan. 17.

According to the NWS, this first strong snow event of the winter could bring as much as 5 inches of snow to the area, or, if the front boundary stays further north, be a mixture of about 2 inches of rain, snow and ice - all of which adds up to the potential for anything from a tough commute on normal times tomorrow to a full closure. Be prepared for the worst and plan ahead!

Get all the information about snow days at Western here, from when you should hear from Western if there is a delay or closure (the goal is always to have a status message out by 6 a.m. via the Western Alert system, which will include both an email and a text message, as well as notification on the WWU home page and the Inclement Weather page at https://emergency.wwu.edu/inclement-weather), to what goes into the decision-making around snow and more.

Also please note that if there IS snow, the sidewalk along East College Way next to the Arb will be closed to foot traffic. For more winter weather personal-preparedness tips, visit Western's Weather Emergency website and review the Additional Resources section at https://embc.wwu.edu/weather-emergency.