Global Warming- Snow in June- Eat your heart out SCIENTISTS

As Western Washington residents thaw out after the coldest June week on record, forecasters say drivers heading for the mountain passes could expect up to 5 inches of snow to fall by Tuesday morning. According to the National Weather Service, the average high temperature in Seattle last week was a less-than-balmy 57.3 degrees -- nearly two degrees lower than the previous record, set in 1917. That's 10 degrees lower than the normal high for the week, 68 degrees. Now, forecasters predict the snow level will drop to 2,500 feet overnight Monday, said Doug McDonnal, a Weather Service meteorologist. The cold, wet weather likely will mean a dusting at Snoqualmie Pass and snow accumulations up to 5 inches at the state's higher passes. "We have a cold front that's coming through, which is obviously unusually strong," McDonnal said. "I can't remember a time when we've put out a heavy snow advisory in June." The snow warning for the Cascade and Olympic ranges has forced highway crews to delay mowing grass and return to the mountain passes with snowplows. Snow-removal equipment was being sent Monday night to Snoqualmie, Stevens, White and Chinook passes, as well as the North Cascades Highway. Forecasters expect up to a foot of snow at higher elevations in the Cascades and 4 to 9 inches in the Olympics. Warmer weather is on its way; McDonnal said temperatures should return to normal Thursday, when sunny skies in the 70s are forecast. Asked when lasting warm weather could be expected, McDonnal relayed a maxim often quoted by a longtime Seattle meteorologist who's since retired. "Summer in Seattle starts on July 12."

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Google Video | June 11, 2008

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