Severe weather hits the West Coast and the South, impacting holiday travel

Parts of the West Coast have been hit by severe weather this week, with mountain snowfall and strong winds.

Heavy mountain snow made travel difficult in the western part of Washington state.

The eastbound lanes of Interstate 90 over Snoqualmie Pass were closed several times Thursday due to traffic jams and accidents. Drivers attempting to drive over Snoqualmie Pass on Christmas Day also faced heavy snow, traffic and numerous travel restrictions. Due to spinouts and crashes, the pass was also temporarily closed on Christmas Day.

According to the Washington State Department of Transportation, traction tires were recommended Friday morning at Snoqualmie Pass with snow and slush on the highway. The same restrictions were in effect at Stevens Pass, where the road was bare and wet with snow, slush and ice in places. Oversized vehicles were prohibited on both passes.

The National Weather Service issued a winter weather advisory for the Cascades for areas above 3,500 feet Friday through early Saturday evening. The weather service said up to 22 inches of additional snow accumulation was possible in some areas, with the heaviest snow expected in areas above 5,000 feet.

Motorists driving over the Cascade passes should prepare for “very difficult to impossible” travel conditions, the NWS said. Motorists are asked to slow down and exercise caution.

An avalanche warning is in effect for the Washington Cascades until Friday at 6 p.m. The Northwest Avalanche Center said there is still a “significant” avalanche danger for most of the Cascades. As of Friday morning, avalanche danger remained at a “high” level on the “west slopes to the south” and on Mount Hood.

In Oregon, cleanup efforts are underway in Portland after a storm hit the country on Thursday.

High wind warnings were issued and NWS warned of possible downed trees and power outages.

At the height of the storm, more than 20,000 homes were without power, according to Portland General Electric. “There were isolated power outages throughout the county, particularly along the Long Beach Peninsula,” said Scott McDougall with Pacific County Emergency Management.

A KATU News crew saw workers in the Wilkes neighborhood Thursday cutting down several large, fallen trees. They reported that coastal communities were also hit by strong winds.

Wind gusts of up to 41 miles per hour blew at Portland International Airport. The NWS issued a wind advisory late Christmas Eve for gusty winds in the Willamette Valley.

“So we have thresholds and criteria for high winds. So sometimes they border on those thresholds and we may see a gust or two. So we have to do some kind of reassessment over time. “In this case, we started seeing stronger wind speeds and that’s when we issued this warning,” NWS meteorologist Rebecca Muessle said when asked why the agency issued the warning issued long after some meteorologists reported wind gusts of 40 mph.

The NWS warned that chaotic weather could hit the region again this weekend.

“We’re in a La Nina year, which traditionally brings wetter and cooler air in the winter, so these low pressure systems just keep coming in,” Muessle added.

Meanwhile, severe storms in the South prompted the NWS to issue tornado warnings for Texas and Louisiana.

KFDM viewers reported that a tornado touched down in Harris County around 4 p.m. local time on Thursday.

Another viewer shared a video of a “twister” that developed Thursday as a line of storms moved east to west toward Southeast Texas.

The news agency reported that there were no reports of injuries.

More than a million people in parts of Louisiana and Texas were under a tornado watch.

The intense storms in southeast Texas dropped several inches of rain in a short period of time, causing flash flooding and stranding motorists in floodwaters along Highway 69, Interstate 10 and several underpasses in Beaumont.

The storm also affected holiday travel.

The Federal Aviation Administration ordered ground stops at both DFW and Dallas Love Field, leaving travelers frustrated.

More than 700 flights within the U.S. were canceled Thursday, according to flight tracking website FlightAware.