Surging wind gusts up to 55 mph whip Tri-Cities, Eastern WA
It was a rough weekend for Tri-Cities holiday travelers. First snowstorms caused nationwide flight cancellations and made Washington mountain passes treacherous, then dangerous high wind presented new challenges overnight Tuesday.
The National Weather Service issued a wind advisory for the Tri-Cities through early Wednesday morning, with southwest winds of 25 to 35 mph, and gusts up to 55 mph.
And with temperatures in Tri-Cities reaching as high as 50 degrees Tuesday and up to 46 degrees on Wednesday, the snow and ice was quickly melting.
The wind warning was in effect for much of central Washington and extended south through Oregon, according to the weather service’s Pendleton office.
Some areas of Oregon had already seen gusts up to 80 mph Tuesday morning.
The weather service said the gusts could create hazards by blowing unsecured items and tree limbs, and some power outages could result.
The Seattle area also was under a high wind advisory of its own, according to the National Weather Service Seattle office.
About 80 flights in and out of Sea-Tac International Airport had been canceled by 10 a.m. Tuesday morning.
About half of them were Alaska Airlines, the other half were mostly Southwest, which has been dealing with record cancellations over the holiday weekend. One Horizon flight from the Tri-Cities airport to Sea-Tac was among the cancellations. That left many travelers opting to attempt to drive.
That could make post holiday travel hazardous with high winds across the region, winter weather alerts still in effect through mountain passes and melting ice and snow.
Flight cancellations for Southwest had already began for Wednesday as well, with at least 35 flights at Sea-Tac impacted.
Stevens Pass was expected to remain closed all day Tuesday because of heavy ice accumulations.
Travelers looking to avoid the mountain passes had to contend with high wind conditions in the Columbia River Gorge, as well.
The weather service also issued flood warnings along the eastern border of the state, as well as Bellingham, Everett and some other Western Washington areas.
The Washington Department of Transportation’s Spokane office is warning drivers to be alert for standing water over roadways as the accumulated ice and snow melts.
Standing water was spotted in several areas of central and Eastern Washington, including Highway 2 east of Spokane and Highway 271 near Oakesdale in Whitman County.
Some state transportation department tips for driving in high wind include:
Keep both hands on the steering wheel.
Slow down.
Don’t ignore road closure signs.
Treat nonfunctional traffic signals as four-way stops.
Keep your headlights on.
Increase following distance.
Be mindful of your load if hauling anything.
Temperatures are to drop down to the high 30s or low 40s for the rest of the week.
Some rain and snow are expected Thursday night into Friday morning.
This story was originally published December 27, 2022 at 10:48 AM.
