Slow going expected on Snoqualmie Pass

While Interstate 90 over Snoqualmie Pass probably will be free of snow this weekend, it will still be slow going for travelers, even after Thanksgiving weekend.

As football fans head to the Apple Cup in Seattle, high school teams from Davenport and Lind-Ritzville head west, and area college students on break travel the pass, they can expect hours of delays. Transportation Department crews are working to repair a Nov. 6 rockslide that closed two lanes of I-90 and state officials say the work isn’t expected to be done before Thanksgiving.

But at least the roads won’t be snowy, said Ron Miller, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in Spokane.

A bubble of high pressure is keeping winds from moving the air over Eastern Washington. Fog and hazy skies are settling in.

“The stagnant air pattern looks like it will persist even past Saturday,” Miller said. “We’re all going to see the same kind of weather we’re getting now.”

A dense fog advisory for portions of Spokane, Lincoln and Kootenai counties will be in effect until 1 p.m. today. Visibilities less than ¼ mile will cause dangerous highway driving conditions, the National Weather Service reported.

It’s too early to tell if the weather will change for Thanksgiving weekend.

The Northwest is seeing a typical midwinter inversion, Miller said, but it’s coming very early in the season. Most inversions happen in December and January, while November traditionally has more storms.

Because stagnant air allows pollution to build up, “we’re hoping that this kind of a pattern usually will not last for much more than a week,” he said.

Calm weather may help crews working to fix the I-90 rockslide. Freezing temperatures, rain and snow have caused delays in the repair work, said DOT spokesman Mark Ettesvold.

Workers Thursday placed 20-foot-long bolts into the wall of rock, and once the slope is stabilized, they plan to remove the loose rocks.

Because of the expected delays, “we’re recommending that people strongly consider staying home this Thanksgiving weekend,” Ettesvold said. Stevens and White passes, the only other routes across the Cascades, will be hard pressed to handle the excess traffic from Snoqualmie, he said.

“Literally there’s no way to get across the Cascades without delays,” he said. “If you leave Sunday to go eastbound on I-90, you won’t make it back until Monday.”

Above the low clouds and fog, ski resorts will see plenty of sun, but some warmer temperatures as well. Still, the mountains aren’t in danger of losing their early-season snows, Miller said.

“The snow might get a little worked over by the skiers and then turn slushy and then icy over night,” he said. “The pack might compress down a little bit, but they’re not going to see it all going into the rivers.”