Truckers will have to be ready to chain up again as they head through the Northwest. The next snowstorm was beginning to crank up Thursday morning and will impact travel in the valleys and mountains.
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Recent storms have dumped a few feet of snow in parts of the Cascades and northern Rockies. This next storm will add several more inches in some parts of the region, especially eastern Washington and northern Idaho, where the National Weather Service has issued a winter weather advisory.
In Washington, Stevens Pass and Holden Village could see the biggest snow totals of 5 to 9 inches through late Thursday night. Look for 3 to 5 inches for Sherman Pass, Plain, Leavenworth and Stehekin, with up to to 3 or 4 inches in Spokane, Grand Coulee, Coulee City, Creston and Wilbur, as well as Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.
For some of these locations in the lower elevations, this will be the first accumulating snow of the season. Gusts will not likely be strong enough for the NWS to post alerts regarding hazardous winds. However, some spots of blowing snow are possible, reducing visibility at times.
In the valleys and along the Interstate 5 and U.S. Highway 101 corridors from Seattle to far northern California, drivers will hit periods of potentially heavy rain. Some sections of US-101 may still be closed due to recent flooding and mudslides. Additional flooding may occur during this next storm.
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Major lanes of concern
• Interstate 5 from Seattle to Mount Shasta, California, heavy rain/flooding.
• Interstate 90 from just east of Moses Lake, Washington, to Coeur d’Alene, heavy snow.
Click here for more FreightWaves articles by Nick Austin.
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