SNOQUALMIE, Wash. -- Heavy snow in the mountains prompted an avalanche warning in the Cascades overnight, but that danger seems to be easing.
Washington Department of Transportation officials monitored the avalanche threat overnight; by morning, they said avalanches posed no threat at Snoqualmie Pass.
However, 'expect high avalanche danger in the back country through this morning," said Lisa Van Cise, KING 5 First Alert Weather. WSDOT officials will continue to monitor the avalanche threat as the day goes on.
Heavy snow that fell on the Cascades Thursday night was easing Friday morning. By 6 a.m., no snow was reportedly falling at Snoqualmie Pass, and trucks and cars were having no diffulty driving through I-90. If you need to cross Snoqualmie Pass, driving conditions right now are good.
A WSDOT driver who spent the night clearing offramps and roads of snow said traffic along I-90 was "pretty uneventful."
"With the graters, I've been working the offramps and we had a few trucks spun out that we push over the top, get them over the hill so we don't close down the pass," said Mike Spears, WSDOT driver.
The side roads at Snoqualmie still have quite a bit of snow and pose challenging conditions for drivers.
Rain, snow and wind on Friday
While the snow was easing this morning at the passes, more rain, snow and even wind is headed for Western Washington later today.
"As an area of low pressure continues to track to the north and east, we'll keep the threat of rain in our morning forecast," said Van Cise. "Mountain snow will continue through the passes as well with another 5-10" possible."
Van Cise says a winter weather advisory will stay in effect through this evening in the Cascades and Olympics.
"The steady rain will taper to showers as we head into the afternoon; however, winds will be on the increase midday, gusting to near 40 mph inland," said Van Cise. "Highs will reach into the upper 40's and low 50's."
By Saturday, showers should decrease with partial clearing. Sunday looks partly sunny with a slight chance of a few showers north of Mount Vernon. Temperatures for both days should be in the 50s, said Van Cise.
