Fierce Winds, Significant Mountain Snow to Start the Week

The National Weather Service is warning of high gusts and plentiful mountain snow.

"We're looking at some snow over the Cascades," says forecaster Krista Carrothers. "It's going to start Monday morning and continue on through Tuesday morning."

"What we're looking at is eight to 12 inches. It's going to be pretty heavy at times; maybe even an inch an hour in the late morning timeframe. The winds, also, especially on those ridgetops of the mountain slope over the passes, are going to be about 40 to 50 miles per an hour."

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"So it's going to be snowy and windy - that means blowing snow, reduced visibility. Those aren't very good conditions for driving over those passes." She's referring to Stevens and Washington Passes.

"When you get down to the lower elevations - below 3500 feet - you could see some rain-snow mix in the morning. None of that is expected to accumulate. But once we get into the afternoon, it's going to switch to rain and we're going to have some pretty strong winds down toward Wenatchee."

"Those winds are going to be westerly, up to about 50 miles per hour, but we can't exclude localized gusts to about 65."

Click here to access WSDOT's winter driving supply checklist.