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Winter weather expected through Monday after blanketing Basin

CASEY MCCARTHY | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 3 years, 9 months AGO
by CASEY MCCARTHY
Staff Writer | February 15, 2021 1:00 AM

A winter weather advisory and hazardous weather outlook from the National Weather Service for the majority of the Columbia Basin remains in effect through most of Monday.

The region was blanketed with snow late Friday night, Saturday morning and Sunday.

Conditions forced people to adjust and events, such as the Valentine’s Market at Beaumont Cellars in Quincy, canceled due to poor road conditions on Saturday.

The winter weather advisory remains in effect until 4 p.m., with the hazardous weather outlook through Saturday. Between two and four inches of snow accumulation was expected between Sunday night and Tuesday morning.

The National Weather Service advised residents to prepare for hazardous road conditions through Monday evening. The latest road conditions for state roads can be obtained by calling 5-1-1.

While the majority of snowfall ends Monday, active winter weather patterns will persist through the week. The National Weather Service said the inclement weather will pair with warmer temperatures as the week continues.

Kyle Foreman, public information officer with the Grant County Sheriff’s Office, said he didn’t see any major collisions with serious injuries as of Sunday afternoon. He said there were some collisions with minor injuries, typically involving snowy conditions or a people driving too fast and finding themselves in a ditch.

“I think we had an average first major snowfall for Grant County as far as traffic,” Foreman said. “It seems like each year people have to remember how to drive in the snow.”

Most incidents and slide-offs came on larger county roads, Foreman said. With President’s Day, he said he realizes the morning commute would be smaller. He said if everyone drives slowly and pays attention to the cars around them, it could be an easy morning commute.

“If anyone is trying to rush, certainly the traction isn’t there for their vehicles, and they run the risk of running off the road or a collision,” Foreman said.

Washington State Patrol Trooper John Bryant said Friday was a busier day as far as collisions for the department, with the majority of incidents in the Kittitas County area. About 93 collisions were handled by the WSP between Friday and Saturday for the district, he said. Luckily, the majority of incidents involved little more than minor injuries, he added.

Bryant said the Basin fared pretty well, as far as traffic accidents, along state roads during the weekend, with most split between state Route 17 and Interstate 90.

“Things were pretty decent for the Basin, but you never know what this next round’s gonna bring and how it flows across Kittitas County and down into the Basin,” Bryant said.

One young woman was killed in a rollover collision in Okanogan County and a passenger in the car had a broken leg and some other serious injuries. The driver of the other vehicle was arrested for driving under the influence, vehicular homicide and vehicular assault.

Bryant said the collision was not weather-related and the people involved didn’t appear to have worn seatbelts.

Road closures on westbound Interstate 90 Friday night on Snoqualmie Pass backed up traffic, after a major accident near King County, but Bryant said the road was reopened fairly smoothly and quickly. As of Sunday afternoon, Bryant said Valentine’s Day had been quiet other than a few minor collisions.

With the holiday weekend, he said hopefully fewer people would be out on the road. He said the worst parts of the holiday weekend come at the beginning, when everyone is getting where they want, and afterward, when people are returning home.

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Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald

Cars and pedestrians pass around the four-way stop on Third Avenue in Moses Lake as slippery conditions persisted all weekend on sidewalks and roadways around the Columbia Basin.

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Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald

A truck equipped with a plow makes its way down West Fourth Avenue in Moses Lake on Saturday afternoon after weekend snowfall.

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Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald

Lian with Tree Cafe in Moses Lake scoops the snow clear from the sidewalk in front of the restaurant on Third Avenue on Saturday afternoon.

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Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald

Cars inched up and down Third Avenue in Moses Lake on Saturday afternoon after the Basin was blanketed in snow earlier that morning.

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