If you’re traveling this holiday weekend, WSDOT says to prepare for traffic headaches – and bring your patience. If you’re driving over Snoqualmie Pass, incoming snow may also increase your travel times this weekend.
The busiest travel times for Wednesday, November 23, 2016 are expected to be between 3-6PM. There is a Winter Storm watch posted for Snoqualmie Pass, but that weather advisory doesn’t kick in until later Wednesday evening and then hangs around on Thanksgiving Day. 6-12 inches of snow are possible in the passes on Thanksgiving.
And don’t forget many folks will be heading east on Friday, November 25th for theApple Cup in Pullman – Go Dawgs!. That could add extra congestion on a normally light holiday [Friday] travel day.
Another storm that could result in decent mountain snow will is expected to hit Sunday night Originally forecasters thought it might hit during the height of Sunday afternoon travel time, but it looks like we dodged that bullet. It’s something, though, worth keeping an eye on if your travels take you over Snoqualmie Pass on Sunday.
Below are some anticipated travel congestion between North Bend and Cle Elum for the Thanksgiving weekend.
WSDOT traffic analysts looked at how many cars were on the road past Thanksgiving weekends. Based on this historical data, the graphs shows how many cars WSDOT projects to be on the road each hour for Thanksgiving Weekend 2016. As the graphs turn from green to yellow, drivers can expect some congestion. During the red hours, traffic analysts predict travel will reach roadway capacity. Once a roadway reaches capacity, any small incident can cause significant backups.
The black line running from left to right show typical summer traffic, showing drivers how the Thanksgiving 2016 holiday weekend travel may relate to a typical weekend.
For more details on anticipated travel levels each day of the Thanksgiving weekend visit www.wsdot.wa.gov
