Winter weather is still making holiday travel hazardous. The latest for Tri-Cities
Winter weather continues to be a hazard for Tri-Cities travelers as they ready for Christmas.
On Friday Kennewick saw more than 30 wrecks on local highways by 4 p.m., according to the Washington State Patrol.
Those hazards are expected to continue through Christmas morning, as freezing rain is expected Saturday afternoon.
The National Weather Service’s Pendleton office said the Tri-Cities could get as much as an inch of freezing precipitation, and issued a winter weather advisory through 7 p.m.
North of the Tri-Cities, NWS Spokane is predicting 1 to 2 inches of snow in valley areas and 3 to 8 inches in the mountains from Spokane to Moses Lake and East to Wenatchee and Ellensburg.
Even the beloved snowplow Plowie McPlow Plow wasn’t safe. It was rear-ended Friday morning while working on I-90 eastbound, just west of Spokane. The damage appeared to be minor.
Unfortunately a few minutes after these pictures were taken, a driver rear-ended Plowie McPlow Plow as it was plowing eastbound I-90 west of Spokane. Please slow down as snow continues and give our plows space. https://t.co/2WAkg2RKcy pic.twitter.com/7TqTZAD9Yc
— WSDOT East (@WSDOT_East) December 23, 2022
Conditions in the mountain passes are even worse.
The Washington Department of Transportation has warned of wrecks causing closures in the passes on Highway 12, 90 and 2.
Interstate 84 remained open, but with delays west of The Dalles, Ore.
Anyone planning to travel Saturday or Sunday should check WSDOT’s real-time travel hazard map for the most up to date conditions.
I-90 is closed near the Snoqualmie Pass due to avalanche conditions because of freezing rain, no estimated reopening has been given.
▪ Eastbound at milepost 34 near North Bend and westbound at milepost 71 near Easton, milepost 84 near Cle Elum and 106 near Ellensburg.
Flight cancellations also continued, as Sea-Tac dealt with the aftermath of an ice storm, which forced the airport to close runways.
By noon on Saturday, five Tri-Cities airport flights to and from Seattle had been canceled, according to Flight Aware. Sea-Tac had canceled more than 175 flights.
The high on Christmas Day is expected to reach 34 degrees, but there is still a chance for freezing rain.
Monday will be a little warmer, but there is a chance for freezing rain during the day and a high chance for rain in the evening, according to the NWS.