Heavy weather – with possible snow – heading toward Maple Leaf

The National Weather Service forecast this morning looks quite different from yesterday – it features high winds, especially Monday, and probable snow through at least the first part of the week.

It was snowing earlier this morning in Renton, Maple Valley and along Hood Canal.

Cliff Mass, at the University of Washington, says Monday could feature a major wind event. “Although powerful, this system is NOT in the same class as the Inauguration Day Storm (1993) or the Chanukah Eve Storm (2006).”

The snow starts as soon as tonight, at 1,000 feet or higher, and by Monday night drops to 400 feet. The forecast calls for accumulation of less than an inch, though.

Maple Leaf, the third-highest hill in Seattle, tops out at 466 feet up on Roosevelt Avenue Northeast by the Blue Saucer.