Snow continued to pile up in the mountains Friday, causing more problems over Stevens Pass and forcing state crews to keep I-90 over Snoqualmie Pass closed for the fourth consecutive day.
Crews are hopeful that a slight break in the mountain snow forecast will ease the avalanche dangers and help clear the state’s major east-to-west highways, officials said.
Instead of being measured in feet, snowfall for the weekend is forecast to fall over the mountains in inches, said Dennis D’Amico, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Seattle.
Some wet snow might have mixed with rain in the lowlands Friday night and this morning, he said. A storm tonight also may bring some lowland accumulations.
On Friday, travel over U.S. 2 was treacherous at Stevens Pass. Traffic in both directions was shut down periodically as heavy snow continued to fall.
“Conditions are abysmal,” Washington State Patrol trooper Kirk Rudeen said Friday morning.
Several semis got stuck near the summit, a repeat of Thursday’s problems, which closed the highway for more than eight hours.
Just after 9:30 a.m. Friday, westbound traffic was stopped and eastbound was just getting through. The traffic situation was changing almost minute-by-minute.
State Transportation Department crews vowed to clean up the mess and make the roads passable.
Rudeen wasn’t as optimistic. Even with snow tires and chains Friday, “No one’s getting any traction,” he said.
The state’s other main east-to-west highway, I-90, remained closed at Snoqualmie Pass.
Transportation officials were hoping to reopen Snoqualmie Pass early today, depending on how much snow fell overnight and the success of avalanche control efforts. If the road is reopened, drivers may be subject to hourlong delays while crews continue avalanche control work.
Drivers traveling on U.S. 2, which was expected to remain open, should prepare for extreme winter conditions, officials said during a Friday night press conference.
The state’s main commercial highway connecting Puget Sound to Eastern Washington has been closed since Tuesday with the exception of a few hours Wednesday.
If the road remains closed today, State Patrol troopers are concerned that weekend skiers who normally would go the Summit at Snoqualmie may instead flock to Stevens Pass.
The ski resort is limited to about 2,800 parking spaces, general manager John Gifford said. People are turned around once the lot is full.
People who try to park on the snowy shoulders won’t find any sympathy from state troopers, Rudeen said.
“If you park on the roadway or on the shoulder on U.S. 2, your car will be impounded immediately,” he said.
Anyone planning to head into the mountains should check conditions ahead of time, be prepared for long delays and carry tire chains, he said.
The long-term forecast doesn’t have any long breaks in sight, D’Amico said.
“It dries out a little bit Sunday, then there’s another system that’s going to hit us Monday,” he said. “There’s more to come.”
Reporter Jackson Holtz: 425-339-3437 or jholtz@heraldnet.com.
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