Christmas driving looking hazardous

MOSES LAKE — What with Christmas, it’s a busy travel week – over the river and through the woods and all that – but drivers planning to head out are advised to check road and weather conditions. There’s plenty of precipitation in the forecast and while the valley forecast is for rain, there could be some traffic-snarling snow through the mountains. 

Lower elevations will get rain, said Laurie Nisbet, meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Spokane.  The lower-elevation forecast has rain every day through Friday.  

“It’s just system after system after system, and there’s no good break,” Nesbit said.  

It’s a different story at higher elevations. Snow is forecast for areas above 3,000-3,500 feet beginning Christmas night and extending into Thursday morning. That would include both Snoqualmie Pass and Stevens Pass.  

Six to 12 inches is possible for 3,000 feet, about the elevation of Snoqualmie, and 18 to 24 inches at 3,500 feet, which includes Stevens Pass. 

The chance for the heaviest snow is “definitely Wednesday night into Thursday morning,” she said. 

People who are heading east can expect snow on Lookout Pass in Idaho, with 4-6 inches forecast Wednesday night into Thursday.  

The Christmas Eve forecast is for a mix of rain and snow through the mountains and a 30-40% chance of rain at lower elevations. The serious rain should start Christmas afternoon - and it’s just going to keep raining, possibly through Sunday. A half-inch to an inch of rain is forecast for the Columbia Basin from Wenatchee to Ritzville to Spokane.  

There’s the chance of wind with the rain, or in between rain showers. The strongest winds are forecast for Saturday.  

Mild temperatures are forecast for Christmas week, with highs in the mid-40s for Moses Lake, Wenatchee and Spokane, and low temperatures in the mid-30s.  

The Washington Department of Transportation recommends that drivers check the conditions along their preferred route before taking to the road. The WSDOT recommends that people check out its “real time travel map,” frequently updated with current road conditions, closures and possible delays. 

“Unless your preferred method of transportation is flying reindeer and a sleigh, make sure you’re carrying chains or approved alternative traction devices,” a post on WSDOT social media read.  

When chains are required that means chains should be on the car or truck; studded tires don’t satisfy state chain requirements. Drivers should take precautions when driving around chain-up and chain removal areas, according to a WSDOT release. Often people are out of the vehicle in those areas.  

Winter driving conditions mean slower speeds, according to the WSDOT release, and extra space between vehicles. Drivers should expect that stopping is going to take more time and space. The bigger the vehicle, the more room it’s going to need to stop, the release said.