The Christmas Day storm brings gusty winds and heavy mountain snow to Washington

There will be little respite for the wind-weary in Western Washington this Christmas. After a nice break on Christmas Eve, another big winter storm is heading our way just in time for the holidays.

A deep low pressure system will push a strong front into the region by daybreak on Christmas Day.

Rain will be steady on the beaches and gusty southerly winds will pick up along the Washington coast.

Precipitation will fill the Puget Sound Basin by midday Wednesday and then move into the Cascades to produce heavy snow by early afternoon.

The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning for both the Cascades and the Olympics from Wednesday through Friday, citing the amount of snow expected in the high country.

One to three feet of fresh snow will fall above 4,000 feet by Friday afternoon, making for wonderful conditions at ski resorts but difficult conditions for mountain travelers.

Be sure to prepare for heavy snow if you plan to cross the mountains on Christmas Day, as well as continued heavy snow on Thursday and Friday.

In terms of winds, this storm is following a more typical path, moving north of us into British Columbia.

We do not expect easterly “Cascadia winds” in the gaps in the terrain as we did Monday evening, but will instead contend with southerly gusts near the coast as the low moves in over Vancouver Island.

Not only will the beaches contend with winds of up to 60 mph, but those near the coast north of Mukilteo and through the San Juans and Whidbey Islands will also contend with southerly gusts of 50 to 55 mph.

More tree damage and power outages are certainly possible as Christmas is over and we head into Hanukkah on Wednesday evening.