From WSDOT: DIABLO – For the second time during this snowy fall, State Route 20/North Cascades Highway will temporarily close for the safety of crews and travelers due to forecasted overnight and weekend snow, along with an increased risk of avalanches. Washington State Department of Transportation maintenance crews will close the gates at milepost 134 […]
Snow
Heavy snows will delay opening of N. Cascades Highway
The snowpack giveth, and the snowpack taketh away.
An unusually massive accumulation of snow on the North Cascades Scenic Highway corridor will delay the opening of that vital tourism route to motor traffic until possibly as …
February snow accumulations brighten outlook for summer water
After an unusually cold and dry January, February brought a bounty of snow that made the water outlook a lot brighter throughout Washington. “We picked up good snow in most places,” said Scott Pattee, water supply specialist with the Natural Resources Conservation Service. What looked like a “dismal snow year” in January turned around last […]
Road warriors
Josh Morgan was at work by 5 a.m., waiting his turn in the garage to thaw out his plow truck so he could load it with sand and, still long before first light, head out to plow Twisp River Road.
Morgan and his five fellow plow operators were summoned to work an hour earlier than usual last Thursday (Feb. 9) as Dallas Darwood …
North Cascades snowpack readings holding steady; dry spell forecast
Despite dumping plentiful snow on valley floors, recent storms haven’t boosted the snowpack in local mountains as much as people might expect.
“Even though we’re getting really good valley snow, it’s disproportionate to …
Early snowpack a promising ‘jumpstart’
The outlook for a good summer water supply in 2017 looks promising as the new year gets underway with a healthy snowpack accumulating in the North Cascades.
At Hart’s Pass northwest of the Methow Valley, the SNOTEL snowpack-monitoring site measured …
Record high temperatures cause major runoff in NW
April produced record high temperatures throughout the entire Pacific Northwest, causing much of the remaining snowpack to melt and run off, according to the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).
Over 80 percent of all SNOTEL (snowpack measurement) sites with at least 15 years of data set new melt rate records for April …
High temperatures melt previous optimism about summer water supplies
The hefty mountain snowpack that blanketed mountains around the Methow Valley at the beginning of April has rapidly melted away during the warm weather of recent weeks.
On April 1, the snowpack in the upper Columbia River basin, which…
Heavy runoff and sediment cause minor flooding, road closures around valley
Melting snow and saturated soils in parts of the Methow Valley have spawned new streams, caused small mudslides, and washed out roads that became inundated when culverts became clogged with sediment and an unusually high volume of water. One section of Rendezvous Road was so wet last week that a new culvert floated in the saturated ground and had to be weighed down …
Rain, warm temperatures threaten statewide snowpack
While the statewide snowpack remains healthy, warmer-than-normal temperatures and lots of rain in recent weeks are quickly melting lower and mid-elevation snow and could pose the risk of spring flooding if the warm, wet trend continues.
“Overall snowpack [statewide] is at 101 percent of normal. We’re feeling pretty good about that considering we’re coming into mid-March,” said Scott Pattee …
