Starting to get a Little Nervous....

[Mandobart]

....about Wintergrass. The NW is blanketed with lots more snow than we normally get and we just got freezing rain on top of that, which is now topped with fresh snow. Not predicted to let up or warm up much in the next week. Everyone think positive!

[DPrager]

WinterGrass is always hot!

[Roger Adams]

I thought WinterGrass was an indoor event? Don't let a wee bit of snow scare ya none!

[foldedpath]

We got as much snow up here on the north Olympic Peninsula coast as Seattle did, maybe even more. We drove through packed snow on back streets to the Genticorum concert in town last Sunday (AWD Subaru Forester). But it's all turning to slush now, with nothing but rain predicted later in the week. I'm not seeing any major new snow predicted now that it's this late in the year,. The recent snow dump was a singular event. WinterGrass should be fine.

[Greg P. Stone]

In the foothills above Sequim (North Olympic Peninsula across the Strait from Victoria, BC) we got 8" and then 24" and then I lost track of the next two days of snow. Thankfully it was much less than the predicted additional 30" I have a 1/4 mile driveway and couldn't get out until a neighbor plowed it down to about 6 inches. I can't get back up the driveway but can now walk down to the Subaru to use it. I'm not going anywhere other than helping people get to jobs and doctors for probably another week. My thumb is sprained from shoveling snow so I'm not even playing mandolin much.

[gtani7]

Dunno about a week out but it's melting pretty fast and driving is not bad on main roads. BUT: parking lots and side roads are a mess so still hazardous without a 4x4, and it'll freeze tonite.

And, like the other user, my hands are suffering from shoveling, my tennis elbow/tendonitis is back witha vengeance.

https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle...licate-things/

[Mandobart]

I have to cross the mountains. I-90 W still closed. Snow and highs in the 20's predicted through next Wednesday.

[foldedpath]

I have to cross the mountains. I-90 W still closed. Snow and highs in the 20's predicted through next Wednesday.

Yeah, it's the mountain passes that will be trouble. If you can make it over the hump, you should be okay getting into Bellevue.

[Jess L.]

I have to cross the mountains. I-90 W still closed. Snow and highs in the 20's predicted through next Wednesday.

Yeah, it's the mountain passes that will be trouble. If you can make it over the hump, you should be okay getting into Bellevue.

If it's any help, you can visually see the current road conditions all over Washington via the large network of WSDOT webcams. There's a more detailed list of central Washington webcams which includes, among others, one of several views of Snoqualmie pass summit which still confirms what you'd said about I-90W being closed: "Westbound I-90 is closed from milepost 106 near Ellensburg to milepost 34 near North Bend."

I used some of those webcams on a different hill, to give me some advance warning of what to expect a couple of days ago when I had to drive someone to a "can't miss it" appointment with a heart surgeon. The webcams helped me to figure out how much extra travel time to allow, so we got to the appointment on time (actually early, and as it turned out, so many other patients had canceled because of the weather, that the doc saw us an hour earlier than the actual appointment, now *that* doesn't happen very often eh).

Another idea... possibly... Depending on what other weather/road conditions are around the northwest, there is sometimes the option to take the rather long detour down the Columbia River gorge (somehow get to I-84 on the Oregon side, take that to Portland, then I-5 to Seattle etc) which is mostly flat, no mountain passes. But probably not right now, it looks like that road is trouble right now too, if this article is any indication. The gorge has a well-deserved reputation for being treacherous during some of the nasty winter storms, just depends on what the weather is doing and what's in the forecast. I've seen the gorge road closed too, when things got too hairy. (Years ago I used to drive truck pulling doubles (two trailers) from southern Idaho into Portland and back, never had any trouble but there was certainly no shortage of snow/ice along that route.) There's an ODOT info and webcams page, which at the time of this writing contains the following advisory:

"Winter Storm Warning
*NOAA Issue Date: 2/13/2019 10:30:00 PM
Another storm impacts eastern Oregon and Washington late tonight and Thursday.. . A warm front will lift north across the forecast area Thursday producing a mix of precipitation. Some areas will see heavy snow and others a mix of snow, rain and freezing rain. Difficult travel conditions are likely.
* What
Heavy snow expected. Total snow accumulations of 3 to 6 inches expected.
* Where
In Washington, eastern Columbia river gorge of Washington. In Oregon, east Columbia river gorge.
* When
From 4 AM to 10 PM PST Thursday.
* Additional details
Plan on slippery road conditions. The hazardous conditions could impact the morning or evening commute.
Precautionary/preparedness actions...
A winter Storm Warning for snow means severe winter weather conditions will make travel very hazardous or impossible."

So, Wintergrass is like next week, is that right? I don't know how long this snow/ice stuff is going to keep up. Usually it doesn't last all that long, but who knows.

[Mandobart]

No worries today. Snoqualmie Pass was clear and mostly dry. 15 F at ~06:00 this morning. Got to Wintergrass!

[Jess L.]

No worries today. Snoqualmie Pass was clear and mostly dry. 15 F at ~06:00 this morning. Got to Wintergrass!

[gtani7]

Started to snow decently last night (i'm approx 20 miles north of W'grass), but very little stuck

Last day! $45 day pass but you have to get there by 10 or 11am to make sure you get one (or buy online). Or you can cruise the concourse, builders there include PRS, Pava S, Andrew Mowry, Wilson from Bakersfield, CA. A few other dread builders, Nechville and Doc's banjos if you're into that.

[Mandobart]

Its snowing east of the pass and is expected to continue for the next few days. Hope to be able to get home by dark. Going to watch a couple Sunday shows then head out.

[gtani7]

Hope you made it home w/o too much stress, the folks from Boise and Montana were getting nervous about the drive home, even with studded tires.