Biggest February snowstorm in decades blankets Seattle

Snow-covered trees in Bothell, Wash., on Feb. 9, 2019.

The snow may have been delayed, but wow, did Mother Nature come through on the delivery.

A widespread 4 to 8 inches of snow blanketed the Seattle metro Friday night into early Saturday morning, with reports of 10-plus inches in some areas outside the city. The official storm total for Seattle, measured at Sea-Tac Airport at 10 a.m. on Saturday, was a whopping 7.9 inches of snow. 6.4 inches of that fell Friday, making yesterday the snowiest February day in Seattle since 1962—and the seventh-snowiest February day of all time.

All told, 10.6 inches of snow has fallen in Seattle this month—placing February 2019 fifth on the list of all-time snowiest Februarys in the city (with records dating to 1894).

More snow is in the forecast Sunday night into Monday—although amounts look much lighter this time, to the tune of 2 to 3 inches. An additional heavy snowmaker may blast the region again Monday night into Tuesday as February 2019 threatens to become the city’s snowiest month since December 2008, when 13.9 inches fell.

Here are some handy stats on the recent snowfall in Seattle, as well as some historical context. Winter-by-winter Seattle snowfall totals are available on our snow stats page.

February snowfall in Seattle (as of 10 a.m. Feb. 9, 2019)

10.6 inches total (Monthly average: 1.7)

  • 1.0 inches on Feb. 3
  • 1.7 inches on Feb. 4 (tied daily record from 1949)
  • 6.4 inches on Feb. 8 (daily record)
  • 1.5 inches on Feb. 9

Snowiest Februarys in Seattle (1894-present)

  1. February 1916: 35.4 inches
  2. February 1923: 17.4 inches
  3. February 1949: 13.1 inches
  4. February 1910: 10.7 inches
  5. February 2019: 10.6 inches (as of 10 a.m., 2/9/19)
  6. February 1894: 10.0 inches
  7. February 1990: 9.8 inches
  8. February 1956: 9.4 inches
  9. February 1937: 8.2 inches
  10. February 2017 and February 1957: 7.2 inches

Snowiest February calendar days in Seattle (1894- present)

  1. Feb. 2, 1916: 21.5 inches
  2. Feb. 14, 1923: 11.0 inches
  3. Feb. 1, 1937: 7.6 inches
  4. Feb. 1, 1916: 7.5 inches
  5. Feb. 1, 1929: 7.0 inches
  6. Feb. 28, 1962: 7.0 inches
  7. Feb. 8, 2019: 6.4 inches
  8. Feb. 17, 1990: 6.3 inches

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