First blast of winter weather on the way; here's what to expect

The forecast for the rest of the week and weekend ahead shows sharply dropping temperatures, rising winds, and some potential for snow accumulation, so here's what you need to know to get prepared.

Here's the forecast. In a nutshell, temps begin dropping tonight and bottom out Thursday and Friday nights with the potential to reach single digits. Multiple pulses of moisture could bring snowfall each day, but the accumulation from any one of these pulses isn't expected to top 1/2 an inch or so, but be prepared for more, just in case. Snowfalls in this amount don't typically delay classes, so get your warm boots with good traction ready. Along with the frigid temps will come breezy conditions, so the wind chills will be even lower. Bundle up!

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.