Headed West for the holidays? Expect snow, rain, road closures after historic atmospheric river in ‘a pretty sensitive area’

If you’re planning to cross Washington’s Cascades this weekend, there are fewer routes than usual to choose from.

Two of the four highways across the mountains are closed after historic flooding on the West Side and regular seasonal closures.

Save for a handful of lane closures along the route, Interstate 90 and Snoqualmie Pass are open as of Thursday. Drivers are required to carry chains November to April on mountain passes.

Stevens Pass is out; around 50 miles of U.S. Highway 2 is closed and will likely stay that way for months, Gov. Bob Ferguson said this week, after an atmospheric river dumped heavy rain over the region. The stretch of highway from Leavenworth to Skykomish sustained significant damage from the storms: mudslides littered the roads with trees and boulders, and rain swelled adjacent Wenatchee River, washing out full chunks of the highway.

Crews have been working during closure, said Ryan Overton, spokesperson for the Eastern region of the Washington State Department of Transportation, but the damage is significant, and it is going to take some time before it is drivable again.

“There are parts we haven’t even seen yet because we couldn’t get back to it,” Overton said.

State Route 20 around Rainy and Washington passes, as is typical for this time of year, is also closed. The North Cascades area closes seasonally from around November to May after crews complete “spring clearing” of snow and other accumulated debris.

Sections of U.S. Highway 12 also sustained heavy damage from the recent storms and accompanying flooding; floodwater from the Naches River swept away portions of the roadway that are now closed. Unlike on Highway 2, there is a detour available for travelers that uses a local frontage road northeast of the closure. The detour adds about five minutes to one’s trip, Overton said, traffic depending.

There are a few lane closures along Interstate 90, including outside of North Bend and Cle Elum. Headed West from Cle Elum, all lanes are closed for emergency bridge repair but expected to reopen by Friday around 6 a.m., according to the WSDOT website.

Two of the four eastbound lanes outside of North Bend are closed as crews work on mitigating erosion from a recent landslide into the adjacent river. Overton said crews began work there Thursday, but he does not have a timeline as to when these lanes will reopen.

Weatherwise, areas around Snoqualmie Pass remain under a flood watch from the atmospheric river, though the rain is turning to snow as the system moves south, said meteorologist Steve Bodnar with the National Weather Service.

Excessive rain runoff is flooding low-lying waterways, like nearby rivers Green, White and Cedar. Bodnar warned that though the rain may be slowing down, hazards like landslides may still arise along the route.

“That area has just been barraged with rainfall since Dec. 8,” Bodnar said. “We’re expecting snow up on the mountain passes, but as you get down lower, it’s going to be rain.”

The pass is forecast to be blanketed with heavy snow this weekend, starting Thursday night when the service issued a winter storm warning through Saturday. There was a possibility of 2-4 inches accumulating Thursday night. Another 4-8 inches may build through Friday. By Saturday, snow could measure 1-2 feet deep.

“It’s really complex, like a nonstop storm system is hitting us right now,” Bodnar said.

Bodnar said drivers should be especially wary of the weather and pack an emergency kit if the pass closes and travelers need to wait it out. Emergency kits should include extra food and water, blankets and coats, and games to keep kids entertained, Bodnar and Overton said.

“In a winter storm warning, we’re looking at more of a moderate to major impact to travel with heavier snow rates,” Bodnar said. “It could even be approaching an inch an hour at times; it’s usually associated with heavier amounts.”

As the atmospheric river moves south, Bodnar said the snow levels will drop. This weekend, he expects areas above 2000 feet of elevation to brace for snow while lower areas will see rain.

“Now, it’s not necessarily going to be classified as an atmospheric river. It’s going to be systems moving west to east, bringing nonstop snow to the west slopes of the Cascades,” Bodnar said.

Rainfall on the West Side he expects to subside from the massive amounts making headlines since Dec. 8. Since then, the North Bend area has experienced a stark 16 inches of rainfall, while Snoqualmie Pass has sustained 24 inches.

“That just gives you an indication of how saturated things are; it’s probably a pretty sensitive area right now,” Bodnar said.