One more storm to blow through Washington
Feb 19, 2014, 5:24 AM | Updated: 6:09 pm
There’s one more front in the parade of winter storms that have been blowing through Washington for the past week-and-and-a-half.
The National Weather Service forecasts more wind and rain Wednesday night and Thursday in Western Washington with 1-to-2 feet more snow in the Cascades.
Heavy snow continued pounding the Cascade Mountains Tuesday, causing numerous mountain pass closures, while heavy rain poured down on western Washington and a squall of hail hammered Snohomish County.
Parts of King County saw trees and power lines fall due to high winds. On Woodinville-Duvall Road, Puget Sound Energy says a large tree came down across the road near Northeast 170th Place, and took several power lines with it. While in Pierce County the heavy rains were blamed for landslides on Schuster Parkway and Marine View Drive.
Snow has been complicating driving through mountain passes. About 3 feet of snow have fallen since Friday at Snoqualmie Pass, and another 2 to 4 feet of snow are expected by Thursday, said Chris Burke, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Seattle.
“We’ve been getting pounded in the mountains,” he said. “We’ve been getting a storm once every 24 hours since Friday.”
Driving across the Washington Cascades is expected to remain a challenge through Thursday after another 1-to-2 feet of snow falls. Traction tires are currently advised on both Stevens Pass and Snoqualmie.
Forecasters say the front Wednesday will be followed by drier but cooler weather Friday with a chance of showers through the weekend that could fall as snow in parts of the Western Washington lowlands.
Snow is forecast Thursday across northeast Washington and lingering into the weekend in the mountains of Eastern Washington.
The rain at lower elevations is filling Western Washington rivers, and flood warnings are on for the Chehalis, and Skokomish rivers.
A break in the snow and colder weather this weekend should give skiers and snowboarders the opportunity to head for resorts to enjoy all the fresh snow.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
