With winter weather moving in, it's easy to get lost in what all those "snow level" numbers actually mean. Unless you live on a beach or on top of a mountain, your elevation might illude you. In Seattle where every block is a new hill, this makes predicting the amount of snow you'll get during a storm that much more difficult.
Here's some terminology:
Snow level is the elevation at which precipitation is likely to appear as snow. If a KING 5 meteorologist tells you the snow level is 500 feet, you'll probably see rain or no precipitation anywhere below that elevation.
Freezing level, on the other hand, is the elevation at which the temperature is 32 degrees Fahrenheit, or freezing. Due to weather patterns, you could live at or below the freezing level but not see any snow. You could also live above the freezing level and see snow.
For more information check out KING 5 forecasts. To take an interactive look at when snow might fall in your area, check out the University of Washington's Snow Watch.
Numbers represent average elevation in the given city and may vary given on actual location. Elevation data is provided by the United States Geological Survey (USGS). County Data is provided by the Washington Geospacial Open Data Portal.