Leaving town for Thanksgiving? Pick your travel days to avoid freezing rain, snow

Annette Cary

Travelers heading out from the Tri-Cities for Thanksgiving gatherings may want to pick their travel days and keep an eye on the forecast.

Tuesday may be the worst travel day, with freezing rain or a wintery mix forecast in the Cascade Mountains of Washington and also north of the Tri-Cities.

Then snow is forecast on some mountain passes the weekend after Thanksgiving, but it should only be heavy for part of the weekend.

In the Tri-Cities, residents can expect a cold and possibly foggy Thanksgiving day.

The fog is expected to clear on Wednesday and then return for Thursday and Friday, according to the National Weather Service.

Those who plan to offset some of their Thanksgiving feast calories with a hike or game of touch football that day can expect dry weather.

The high is forecast at 41, which is about 5 degrees below normal for the date for the Tri-Cities and colder than earlier forecasts predicted.

More fog is forecast for the Tri-Cities this week, according to the National Weather Service.
More fog is forecast for the Tri-Cities this week, according to the National Weather Service.

An air stagnation advisory for the Tri-Cities area has been extended until 10 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 22.

Air quality Monday was rated by the Washington state Department of Ecology as “moderate,” one step worse than “good.” The forecast called for continued moderate air quality through at least Tuesday.

Cascade Mountains travel

Rain, possibly mixed with freezing rain, is forecast Tuesday afternoon and evening at Snoqualmie Pass on Interstate 90 across the Cascade Mountains.

But travel weather looks good Wednesday and Thursday.

Then the weather pattern shifts with a chance of rain and snow Friday through Sunday during the day, and snow is possible Friday night and likely Saturday night. Snow Saturday night could be heavy, says the weather service.

The forecasts for White Pass, Stevens Pass and Blewett Pass are similar, but with the worst weather on Tuesday at Stevens Pass. A wintery mix of snow, rain and freezing rain is forecast there for most of Tuesday, followed by heavy snow Tuesday night.

A winter weather advisory is issued for Stevens Pass from 4 p.m. Tuesday until 4 a.m. Wednesday.

Blue Mountains travel

Travel conditions are forecast to be reasonably good for those heading east from the Tri-Cities on Interstate 84 through the Blue Mountains.

A frosty landscape frames traffic traveling on Interstate 82 south of Kennewick at the start of the Thanksgiving holiday week. Travelers heading out from the Tri-Cities may hit freezing rain and snow.
A frosty landscape frames traffic traveling on Interstate 82 south of Kennewick at the start of the Thanksgiving holiday week. Travelers heading out from the Tri-Cities may hit freezing rain and snow.

Any precipitation Tuesday should fall as rain — no freezing rain forecast — at Meacham, Ore., 30 miles east of Pendleton.

Then there is little chance of precipitation until Saturday night. A chance of snow is forecast Saturday night followed by rain and snow Sunday, according to the early forecast.

Spokane travel forecast

Travelers heading north from the Tri-Cities to Spokane can expect rain mixed with snow, particularly after 4 p.m., Tuesday from at least Ritzville to Spokane. A winter weather advisory has been issued from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Ritzville area.

Rain will turn to snow Tuesday night at Spokane. However, little more than an inch, at most, should accumulate on the ground.

A chance of rain and snow is forecast for Saturday night and Sunday south of Spokane, turning to just rain by Ritzville.

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