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Saturday: Wind chill threat persists; overnight shelter in Bellingham extended

Cold air continues to grip Whatcom County

By Ralph Schwartz Staff Reporter

Temperatures remained bitterly cold on Saturday morning, Jan. 13, after an arctic front swept through western Whatcom County on Thursday. 

The temperature at 8:45 a.m. Saturday at Bellingham International Airport was 9 degrees, according to the National Weather Service. The agency extended its wind chill advisory for the western county to noon Saturday. The wind chill could be as low as 5 below zero through the advisory period.

Bellingham’s severe-weather shelter at 810 N. State St. will remain open overnight through Thursday morning, Jan. 18, Whatcom County Health and Community Services said on Facebook. A Weather Service forecast indicates temperatures will dip below freezing overnight at least through Wednesday morning, Jan. 17. 

The thermometer in Bellingham won’t break through the freezing point until Monday, Jan. 15, according to the Weather Service forecast. The high temperature on Martin Luther King Jr. Day is predicted to be 36.

Due to cold daytime temperatures, the severe weather shelter on North State Street in Bellingham will remain open around the clock, until 8 a.m. Monday, Jan. 15. A severe-weather shelter at 2034 Washington St. in Ferndale will remain open continuously through 8 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 14.

The City of Bellingham also opened a daytime warming shelter at the former Lighthouse Mission Ministries Drop-in Center at 1013 W. Holly St. That shelter is open 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

Puget Sound Energy reported no significant power outages as of 9 a.m. Saturday.

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