This Christmas will be met with stormy weather in much of Washington. The National Weather Service put out a winter storm watch for the Cascade Mountain region, which could see “heavy snow” as low as 3,500 feet between Wednesday and Friday as gusts. Northwest Washington, meanwhile, is on high wind watch as gusts could reach 40 mph Wednesday afternoon and 55 mph Thursday.
The storm comes in the middle of one of the busiest travel weeks of the year. Whether driving back from visiting family for Christmas, or heading on a trip for New Year’s, here’s what you need to know about potential road closures and travel hazards.
Are road closures expected?
According to the Washington State Department of Transportation, the following mountain passes are currently closed for the season:
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State Route 123, Cayuse Pass
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SR 410, Chinook Pass
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The final 2.7 miles of SR 542, Mt. Baker Highway
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SR 20, North Cascades Highway
Aside from those, it’s too early to know exactly which highways will be closed following the Christmas storm, WSDOT spokesperson RB McKeon said.
“We had two slides on SR 20 last week, so a reminder that last minute closures are possible and travelers should be prepared for them,” McKeon told McClatchy in an email…