Seattle could get several inches of traffic-choking snow Tuesday afternoon and evening, but forecasters now see a reduced chance of a mammoth storm that, for a time, looked like it could dump a foot or two of snow on the Puget Sound area this week.

The possibility of a snowstorm reminiscent of December 1996 was the buzz over the weekend, as models showed the possibility of moist air from the Pacific Ocean meeting up with cold air in Western Washington.

Now it looks like warm air moving up from the south will cause the snow here to rapidly change to rain -- as in rain Wednesday, rain Thursday, rain Friday, rain Saturday and rain Sunday.

The reduced chance of a titanic snowstorm won’t bother motorists, but forecasters may feel a bit of a disappointment.

“Many of us got into the field because of a major storm event or a love of extreme weather. Like big snowstorms,” confesses University of Washington meteorologist Cliff Mass. “And there is a tendency to forecast what you yearn for.”

Mass’s blog offers a good discussion of the storm models and what they hold for the next few days.