Traffic Payout

Forecasts call for heavy rain this weekend and our crews are gearing up in full force. They are out inspecting culverts, catch basins, flood gates, drains and anywhere that standing water may cause challenges for drivers.  We have crews ready to work all weekend to keep roadways open during any storm.

The forecasts we see call for snow in the mountains from Saturday around 4 a.m to Sunday at 4 a.m. and then a warm up on Sunday.  The freezing level could rise to as high as 8,000 ft., so much of that snow will melt and fill drains and rivers.  We watch this closely because, as you may already know, if we get a ton of snow and it starts to warm up we may have to close highways for avalanche control late Saturday evening or first thing Sunday morning.  Of course as we all about a fickle mother nature. This is only the forecast and can change.

Where do we get this weather info from? We get a detailed forecast several times per day from a private forecast service (WeatherNet). We use these forecasts, along with other sources such as the National Weather service, to help us determine staff levels and snow and ice-fighting material applications. We have a few other sources we like to reference and thought we would share them with you:

• National Weather Service 
• Cliff Mass - has great explanations of not just what the weather forecast is but why it will be that way
• Ever wonder what the weather was like a specific day last month?  Check out the weather history calendar offered by Weather Underground.
• University of Washington has several weather services that help tell the story
• Wilbur's Weather
• Atmospheric Sciences weather radar
• Probcast - a probabilistic weather forecast