A new and powerful storm will make travel difficult for weekend trucks in parts of the Pacific Northwest, primarily in the Washington and Oregon Cascades, as well as the Olympic Range in Washington.
Heavy snow and occasional whiteout conditions will likely cause minor to potential moderate delays in freight flows.
Related: Chaining up: 4 pro tips for truckers
The storm will begin Friday night, with the bulk of the snow Saturday, then fading (but not necessarily ending) Sunday. The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm watch for the Hurricane Ridge, Stevens Pass, Snoqualmie Pass, Mount St. Helens and Holden Village areas, where some spots could see weekend snow totals of 12 to 30 inches.
Look for mixed precipitation in Cle Elum and Cliffdell along the eastern slopes of the Washington Cascades. Total snow accumulations of 5 to 10 inches are likely, with a light glaze of ice.
This storm could also spread light to moderate snow across the northern Rockies and will produce rain in valleys and lower elevations of western Washington and Oregon.
.Wind gusts will reach 45 mph, producing periods of blowing snow and reduced visibility, especially over Hurricane Ridge, Stevens Pass and Snoqualmie Pass.
Light to moderate snow may linger across the Pacific Northwest early next week.
Major lanes of concern
• Interstate 5 from Seattle to Cle Elum, Washington.
• Interstate 90 from Bellingham, Washington, to Portland, Oregon.
• U.S. Highway 2 from Everett, Washington, to Kalispell, Montana.
Other notable weekend weather
Several inches of snow could pile up Friday night into Saturday across the interior Northeast, mainly in portions of Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire. Places like Boston and Hartford, Connecticut, could see a mix of rain, snow and sleet, while the rest of the region gets only rain.
Showers and thunderstorms Friday and Saturday will hit places from Texas to the Tennessee and Ohio valleys. Some storms could turn severe and may produce a few tornadoes. However, this won’t be a major outbreak like the one last Friday that destroyed parts of the South, killing dozens of people.
Click here for more FreightWaves articles by Nick Austin.
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