Tagged: Winter weather

The conditions that led to fatal avalanches in the Washington Cascades could get worse this week. Three expert skiers died near Stevens Pass on Sunday and a snowboarder died in a separate avalanche near Snoqualmie.

Mark Moore is the director of the Northwest Weather and Avalanche Center. He says a crystalline layer of frost prevented new snow from bonding with the bottom layers. He estimates that led to hundreds if not thousands of avalanches in remote areas over the weekend.

While cities west of the Cascades recover from the ice storm, flooding and mudslides, the Inland Northwest is getting more of what residents have been expecting for a while: a wintry white layer of snow. And forecasters say there's another round on the way.

Cliff Mass, KPLU weather expert and University of Washington professor, says the snow storm we woke up to is almost out of gas:

"... amazingly the worst is almost over. In fact, it should really be all over for most of the western side of the Cascades by 1 PM," he said.

But not too much. 

"It's not going to be the big snow-storm," says KPLU weather expert, and UW professor, Cliff Mass.

The areas most likely to get a couple inches of snow are the so-called "convergence zone," between north Seattle and Everett, and in the Bellingham area. For everyone else, Mass says it will be "hit and miss" depending on so many factors that it's hard to generalize.

Climate experts have predicted a colder and wetter than normal winter on the way for Washington, thanks to a second year in a row of La Nina’s effects. 

While some people in the area will be happy about a surge in showers, a lot more are probably disappointed or worried.

Heavy rains brought mudslides that covered roads in Pierce County early this morning, including a slide over East Jovita Boulevard in Edgewood. More rain is expected today, along with gusting winds that could topple trees in already soaked earth, according to KOMO News:

Forecasting models put this storm about on par with the one that blew through on March 2 -- enough to perhaps cause a few power outages and knock over a few trees, but we are not expecting a major windstorm.

In Tacoma, a slide brought a tree down over one lane of Schuster Parkway. There were no injuries or cars involved with that slide, and traffic is getting by the area, according to KIRO-TV.

The peak winds are expected this afternoon in the Puget Sound lowlands, with gusts as high as 50 miles per hour in the late afternoon and early evening hours, according to the National Weather Service. 

Updated 9: 21 p.m.

Avalanche danger, heavy snowfall and spun-out vehicles have kept Interstate 90 over Snoqualmie Pass closed for hours as a winter storm buffets the Washington Cascades. Eastbound lanes reopened late this afternoon, and westbound lanes later Monday evening.

Transportation officials closed the pass late Monday morning due to eight inches of snow that had fallen since 6 a.m., plus poor visibility and spinouts.