Passes reopen after spinouts due to heavy snow and icy conditions

Both Stevens and Snoqualmie passes have reopened after closing due to spinouts caused by heavy snow and icy road conditions on Saturday.

Heavy snow mixed with freezing rain have been falling in the mountains all day.

The snow had not stopped since a KIRO 7 crew arrived at the Summit of Snoqualmie early Saturday afternoon into late evening.

Because travel has been tricky over the passes all day, chains are required except for all-wheel and four-wheel drive vehicles.

Stevens Pass was closed from milepost 57 at Deception Falls to milepost 79 at Merritt but reopened after 10 p.m.

Snoqualmie Pass was closed eastbound at milepost 34 near North Bend and westbound at milepost 84 near Cle Elum and also reopened after 10 p.m.

WSDOT crews worked to get multiple collisions cleared quickly, as well as plow and de-ice the roads.

WSDOT tweeted that more snow is expected through Sunday morning and they plan to continue plowing and putting down de-icer.

We are handling a lot of collisions between the closure points of North Bend and Cle Elum. We are working to get the blocking vehicles to the shoulder. Between the snow and rain, there is compact snow and ice on the roadway. We are looking to evaluate an opening at 10 p.m. pic.twitter.com/iB0D1BbAb3
— Snoqualmie Pass (@SnoqualmiePass) December 19, 2021

A Winter Storm Warning continues in the Cascades through tonight. Along with heavy snow, winds will be quite gusty in the higher elevations. In the past hour, winds gusted to 85 mph near the top of Crystal Mountain. #wawx pic.twitter.com/9nESMHM4ft
— NWS Seattle (@NWSSeattle) December 18, 2021