Travelers, Tri-Cities commuters may hit icy roads as freezing fog continues in WA, OR

Freezing fog is forecast to persist in the Tri-Cities area through most of the next week, making roads slippery in places and reducing visibility, according to the National Weather Service.

Travelers should check the weather forecast before heading out, and Tri-Cities commuters returning to work after the Thanksgiving break may need to plan for slower morning traffic.

Patchy freezing fog is forecast in the mornings in Tri-Cities from Saturday through Wednesday. It also is forecast each night starting about 10 p.m. from Saturday through Tuesday night.

Drivers should be ready for sudden changes in visibility, says the weather service.

For foggy driving it recommends reducing speed, using low-beam headlights and allowing extra space between vehicles.

Using high beams causes glare, making seeing what’s ahead on the road more difficult.

In extremely dense fog, pull your car off to the side of the road as far as possible, the weather service recommends.

After stopping, turn off all lights except hazard flashing lights, set the emergency brake and take your foot off the brake pedal to be sure tail lights are not on and a driver could mistakenly run into your car.

WA, OR travel forecast

For travelers returning to the Tri-Cities on Washington and Oregon routes after Thanksgiving, freezing fog is the major hazard forecast:

▪ Lower Yakima Valley and I-90: Freezing fog is forecast except for mid-afternoon to early evening through Monday on parts of Interstate 90 and Interstate 82 from Grandview to Yakima to the Ellensburg area through at least Monday.

On Interstate 90 at Snoqualmie Pass patches of freezing fog are forecast for much of Friday through 10 a.m. Saturday.

But snow should not be a problem. No significant precipitation is predicted on the pass until Wednesday and Thursday.

▪ Spokane to Tri-Cities: Travelers on Highway 395 from Spokane to the Tri-Cities should expect patchy freezing fog Saturday and Sunday night in the Spokane area and in some areas to the south all the way to Pasco.

Drivers returning to the Tri-Cities on Interstate 84 through Eastern Oregon also could hit fog.

▪ Oregon I-84: Friday morning the stretch of Interstate 84 in the Pendleton area was under a freezing fog advisory, with visibility reduced to a quarter mile or less.

More patching freezing fog was forecast nights through mid morning most days in the Pendleton area through Wednesday night and in Hermiston on Friday and Sunday morning.

However, from Meacham, Ore., about 30 miles southeast of Pendleton, Interstate 84 should be mostly dry with good visibility through Thursday other than some patchy fog from Baker City to Ontario on Saturday morning.

For those traveling in the Columbia Gorge, patchy freezing fog is forecast for Saturday morning in The Dalles, Ore.