Mountain snow, lowland rain brings trouble to highways

Heavy snow in the mountains caused big problems for drivers across both passes on Wednesday.

Eastbound Snoqualmie Pass was closed for hours after multiple spinouts. Chains and traction requirements are still in effect on both highways, so the Washington State Department of Transportation recommends you check first if you’re headed across a pass.

Trooper Rick Johnson said as of 2 p.m., troopers had responded to 61 calls for service near Snoqualmie Pass alone. No injuries were reported. The majority of those were spinouts.

Troopers said they were also working on rolling slowdowns so that WSDOT could safely run snow removal operations.

Washington mountain pass webcams

Fancy. https://t.co/rt5gzwIl7p

— Washington State DOT (@wsdot) December 30, 2020

As of about noon on Wednesday, the National Weather Service reported 12-hour precipitation totals as follows: Mount Baker: 1.03″, Stevens Pass: 0.78″, Snoqualmie Pass: 1.26″, White Pass: 0.61″, and Paradise on Mount Rainier: 1.12″.

In the lowlands, heavy rain has also impacted traffic on area highways. A semi truck jackknifed on I-5 in Olympia near US 101 on Wednesday morning. WSDOT also reported multiple collisions on I-5, SR 99, SR 523, I-405, and US 2.

#HappeningNow: Jackknifed semi is currently blocking all lanes of NB I-5 in Olympia near US 101. Traffic is getting by on the shoulder, but expect delays as our crews work to clear the scene. @wspd1pio @wsdot pic.twitter.com/8vX8BaEdJC

— WSDOT Tacoma (@wsdot_tacoma) December 30, 2020

Forecasters say the rain and snow will stick around through Wednesday night. The National Weather Service reported thunderstorms moving onshore Wednesday afternoon, which included reports of a couple lightning strikes.

Some areas of heavier rain as well as embedded thunderstorms are moving onshore. A couple of lightning strikes have been detected. When thunder roars, go indoors! #wawx pic.twitter.com/sAv7wINcZ8

— NWS Seattle (@NWSSeattle) December 30, 2020

Showers may linger on Thursday into Friday morning, but drier conditions mean rivers will recede.

SDOT tweaks Seattle plow routes, prepares for snow

On Friday night, the heavy rain in the lowlands and snow in the mountains return. Forecasters say there is also a potential for more gusty wind across the region, however details are still uncertain.

The potential exists for a widespread wind event this weekend for the PNW (hence the huge oval). Widespread gusts of at least 35-45 MPH are likely, but stronger winds cannot be ruled out. There's still a lot of refining that will happen with this forecast so stay tuned! #wawx pic.twitter.com/pOJdsQaflg

— NWS Seattle (@NWSSeattle) December 31, 2020

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