Weather Alert | Wind advisory issued for Tri-Cities. Snow coming to the mountains

Wind gusts of up to 45 mph are forecast for the Tri-Cities on Thursday as a storm system sweeps inland from the Pacific Ocean.

The National Weather Service has issued a wind advisory for 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Thursday across the Mid-Columbia, plus as far south as Bend, Ore., and north to Spokane.

The Pacific Northwest is being bombarded with a series of storms expected to continue for several more days, according to AccuWeather on Wednesday.

Storms are expected the rest of this week into next week, said Matt Rinde, AccuWeather senior meteorologist.

A 70% chance of rain was forecast for Wednesday night in the Tri-Cities, with a 50% chance of rain Thursday.

The storm system could bring gusts of wind up to 40 mph in the Tri-Cities on Thursday, building to 45 mph that night, according to the weather service.

Friday should be less windy, but gusts of up to 21 mph are forecast.

High temperatures are forecast to drop into the 50s from Friday through at least next Wednesday. But lows should remain well above freezing in the Tri-Cities.

More rain is possible Monday night through at least Wednesday, according to the weather service.

That storm system could first bring snow to passes in the Cascade Mountains in Washington as soon as Saturday, including enough snow to accumulate at Snoqualmie Pass, according to AccuWeather.

Snow could be measured in feet in parts of the Cascade Mountains, it said.

The precipitation comes as more than half of the West is still in extreme drought, with the U.S. Drought Monitor rating the drought in Benton and Franklin counties as “exceptional.”

This story was originally published November 3, 2021 at 7:48 PM.