Sunny Weather A Problem For Northwest Rivers And Mountains

WEATHER  GENERAL NEWS 

By Anna King

Richland, WA  May 15, 2008 5:48 p.m.

If the sunny weather has you planning to play near rivers or up in the mountains this weekend take heed. Fast melting snow is expected to create dangerous conditions. Richland correspondent Anna King reports.

First off the avalanche danger. The Northwest Weather and Avalanche Center warns the hot weather may cause the entire season’s snowpack to cut loose in places.

Washington’s Department of Transportation has preemptively closed the North Cascades Highway until at least Monday to protect drivers.

Department spokesman Mike Westbay says falling rocks are an additional worry region wide.

Mike Westbay: "Anytime you cut a highway though a mountain pass there is the potential of rocks getting loose and rolling down to the roadway. And that happens when temperatures rise and things thaw."

Lower down all that wet snow turns to water and is prompting the National Weather Service to issue flood watches and warnings.

Those include the Yakima, Naches and Stehekin rivers in central Washington and the St. Joe and the Coeur d’Alene rivers in north Idaho. Even the Spokane River is expected to reach flood stage by the middle of next week.

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