Serious Snow to Fall in the PNW-Hazardous Travel Expected

Mother Nature is packing a serious punch for the Pacific Northwest mountains this weekend. A Winter Weather Advisory is in effect for up to 8" of snow in the Northern Blue mountains of Washington and Oregon. The advisory is in effect through Friday at 6 am.

Get our free mobile app

The National Weather Service in Pendleton is warning motorists to plan ahead.

Motorists should plan to encounter slippery roads. The hazardous conditions could impact your Thursday evening commute.

Canva

Slow down, and plan for extra time to reach your destination safely.

NWS-Pendleton-Twitter

The next system to bring mountain snow will arrive late Friday. Winter Storm Watches and Winter Advisories have been posted. Snow accumulations of 4-12" are expected with heaviest snow near the crest of the Cascades and the highest elevations of the Blue Mountains.

Exercise caution and allow plenty of distance between you and the vehicle ahead of you. Watch for snow plows and steer clear of them.

Canva

If that's not enough, a Winter Storm Watch goes into effect Saturday morning through Saturday evening for the South Central Oregon Cascades, the Siskiyou Mountains, Southern Oregon Cascades. This includes Willamette Pass, Diamond Lake, Crater Lake, Union Creek, Lake of the Woods, Siskiyou Summit. Affected highways include portions of routes 58, 230, 62, 140, 66, and Interstate 5. According to the NWS in Pendleton:

Total accumulations of 6 to 12 inches is possible.

Wind gusts of up to 35 mph are expected. Travel will be hazardous, with the heaviest snow to occur between 7 am and 2 pm on Saturday.

WSDOT

Drive Safe. Chains may be required Roads will be slippery.

Canva

The 8 Biggest Washington State Snowstorms

LOOK: The most expensive weather and climate disasters in recent decades

Stacker ranked the most expensive climate disasters by the billions since 1980 by the total cost of all damages, adjusted for inflation, based on 2021 data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The list starts with Hurricane Sally, which caused $7.3 billion in damages in 2020, and ends with a devastating 2005 hurricane that caused $170 billion in damage and killed at least 1,833 people. Keep reading to discover the 50 of the most expensive climate disasters in recent decades in the U.S.

Gallery Credit: KATELYN LEBOFF

LOOK: The most extreme temperatures in the history of every state

Stacker consulted 2021 data from the NOAA's State Climate Extremes Committee (SCEC) to illustrate the hottest and coldest temperatures ever recorded in each state. Each slide also reveals the all-time highest 24-hour precipitation record and all-time highest 24-hour snowfall.

Keep reading to find out individual state records in alphabetical order.

Gallery Credit: Anuradha Varanasi

Filed Under: Winter Weather Advisory