Snow on mountain passes amid post-holiday travel rush
Dec 27, 2018, 7:37 AM | Updated: 9:18 am
Eastbound over Snoqualmie Pass back in 2015. (AP)
(AP)
Wednesday and Thursday are two of the busiest traveling days of the holiday season. That’s made for heavy traffic and slow going over the passes, especially as snow has hit the mountain routes.
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Stevens Pass: Compact snow and ice on the road. Traction tires are advised. Oversized vehicles are prohibited.
Snoqualmie Pass: Road mostly bare with slush. Light snow reported.
It snowed all day Wednesday at Snoqualmie Pass, which required drivers to use chains at times. The Washington State Department of Transportation reports that plows have been working round the clock to keep freeways and other roads open.
While it has been partly cloudy over the past day, the snow is expected to return Thursday afternoon. Snow will continue to fall through Friday, with accumulations of 3-5 inches predicted.
Snow pack is healthy this year, according to UW Climatologist Cliff Mass. Most of the mountains in the Northwest have decent levels of snow, which is good to have in the summer as a water source. The west slopes of Cascades in Southwest Washington and Oregon are about 60-80 percent, however. Mass says that this year’s snow pack is as good or better than last year’s.
