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More snow closes 80 miles of of I-90

Published 9:37 am Thursday, December 30, 2021

A blast of snow Thursday halted travel on a large portion of I-90. (Washington State Department of Transportation)
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A blast of snow Thursday halted travel on a large portion of I-90. (Washington State Department of Transportation)
A blast of snow Thursday halted travel on a large portion of I-90. (Washington State Department of Transportation)
People use the parking lot of the Madelyn Helling Library in Nevada City, Calif., Tuesday , Dec. 28, 2021, to take advantage of the American Red Cross device charging and warming center. Snow, ice and unseasonable cold in the Pacific Northwest and the Sierra Nevada are continuing to disrupt traffic, cause closures and force people to find refuge in emergency warming shelters. (Elias Funez/The Union via AP)
An American Red Cross warming center has been established in Madelyn Helling Library in Nevada City, Calif., Tuesday, Dec. 28, 2021. Snow, ice and unseasonable cold in the Pacific Northwest and the Sierra Nevada are continuing to disrupt traffic, cause closures and force people to find refuge in emergency warming shelters. (Elias Funez/The Union via AP)
Kelly Hall and her brother Geof Finley take a walk in the snow along W. Bannock St. in downtown Boise, Idaho, on Wednesday, Dec. 29, 2021. The National Weather Service is forecasting very cold temperatures in the Treasure Valley from Friday night through Sunday. Snow will continue on Thursday. (Sarah A. Miller /Idaho Statesman via AP)
Justin Kennedy of Onslaught Crew, an action sports organization, clears the sidewalk from snow on Wednesday, Dec. 29, 2021 in the area where OC will have a ski and snowboard exhibition during the Potato Drop on New Year's Eve in Boise, Idaho. The National Weather Service is forecasting very cold temperatures in the Treasure Valley from Friday night through Sunday. (Sarah A. Miller /Idaho Statesman via AP)
Lily Tetrick, 13, and her mother Amber Tetrick cross Main St. in the snow in downtown Boise, Idaho, on Wednesday, Dec. 29, 2021. The National Weather Service is forecasting very cold temperatures in the Treasure Valley from Friday night through Sunday. (Sarah A. Miller /Idaho Statesman via AP)

Associated Press

SEATTLE — Another blast of snow halted travel on a large portion of the main east-west highway across Washington state Thursday and also snarled traffic in the Seattle and Portland, Oregon, metro areas.

Authorities closed about 80 miles of I-90 over the Cascade Mountains “due to near zero visibility and adverse road conditions.” There was no immediate estimate as to when the interstate would reopen.

A storm that moved in overnight dumped up to 3 inches in parts of Seattle and even more outside the city. Snoqualmie Pass east of Seattle, which is what I-90 runs over, saw more than 9 inches of new snow, according to the state transportation department.

In the Portland area and southwest Washington state, up to 4 inches of new snow was possible.

Temperatures in western Washington and Oregon were hovering around the freezing mark, considerably warmer than the past several days when the mercury hit the single digits in some areas after extreme cold air from Canada’s Fraser River Valley blew in Sunday.

Airflow from the Pacific will blow in on the weekend and cause temperatures to rise to more seasonable highs in the 40s Fahrenheit.

In Southern California, drenching rains fell and snow brought traffic to a halt on a major highway early Thursday as the last in a series of December storms that walloped the state moved through.

The Grapevine section of I-5 high in the mountains north of Los Angeles was shut down due to snow and ice before dawn, the California Highway Patrol said.

The storm brought widespread worries about flooding and debris flows from wildfire burn scars in the region.

Northern California was finally mostly free of storm warnings, but chains were required on major highways through the Sierra Nevada due to icy conditions.

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