Arctic Blast: What to know about the bitter cold hitting the Tri-Cities
An Arctic blast of frigid air is headed toward the Tri-Cities, with the potential for a high temperature next week as cold as 18 degrees.
The National Weather Service’s early forecast puts the high Monday at 31, dropping to 21 on Tuesday and 18 by Wednesday.
The forecast lows for the Tri-Cities are 14 degrees on Monday night and 12 degrees Tuesday night.
Troughs of cold air will be moving south from the Arctic over the weekend, according to the National Weather Service. They are far enough west to hit Washington state.
However, chance of snow is diminishing for the Tri-Cities.
The weather service has dropped its prediction for snow in the Tri-Cities Friday and Saturday from less than an inch to less than half an inch at most.
The chance of precipitation Friday is 60 percent, but it’s most likely to fall as rain after 10 a.m. Only a slight chance of precipitation is forecast for Saturday.
I-90 snow forecast
Heavy snow is still forecast for the Cascade Mountains, where a winter storm watch has been issued for Friday and Saturday.
Nine to 13 inches of snow is expected at Snoqualmie Pass on Interstate 90 with another 3 to 7 inches expected on Friday night, Saturday and again Saturday night. Sunday 4 to 8 inches is forecast.
I-90 was closed at 4 p.m. Wednesday for about 90 minutes because of spin-outs and collisions at Denny Creek five miles west of the summit.
When it reopened, chains were required.
A winter storm watch also has been issued for parts of Interstate 84 for travelers headed east from the Tri-Cities through Oregon.
As much as 3 inches of snow Saturday and 4 inches Sunday are forecast, in addition to 1 to 3 inches those nights, at Meacham on I-84.
Winter travelers should pack warm clothing, boots and gloves, blankets, a flashlight and extra batteries, food, water, a cell phone charger, tire chains and kitty litter or sand to help with traction, says the Department of Transportation.
This story was originally published January 9, 2020 at 12:23 PM.