Snowfall prompts first of the season delay for Chelan, Manson, Pateros, Methow Valley schools; travel hazards

Semi truck and trailer slide off US Highway 97, south of the Big Y Monday afternoon. Photo courtesy: Dana Anderson.

A report to news@kozi.com of near blizzard conditions on Blewett Pass, while it was reported that an estimated one-inch of snow an hour fell in Manson Tuesday afternoon.

The snowfall caused the Lake Chelan School District to schedule a late start schedule Wednesday. Pre-school classes are cancelled.

Manson schools are operating two hours late Wednesday. Both morning and afternoon ECEAP programs are cancelled.

Pateros schools are on a two-hour delay.

Methow Valley School District 350 is beginning the school day, Wednesday, two hours late. Emergency bus routes are in use.

"We're finally seeing a lot of that snow finally transition over to rain," said National Weather Service Meteorologist Joey Clevenger, who has a real-time radar view of the atmosphere above the Chelan and Wenatchee Valleys. "We're gonna kinda have a break between the system that we're expecting Saturday. That's the next round of precip for the region. So, Thursday and Friday we'll mainly see some mountain snow showers and a lot less intensity from yesterday's system."

"This Saturday, there's going to be another push (of precipitation) coming in bringing generally mountain snow, mainly above 4,000 feet and then lowland rain. added Clevenger. "That will be our consistent pattern through at least mid next week, into the holiday."

As for a white Christmas? Clevenger predicts, "We may be running too hot for a white Christmas."

A truck and trailer slide off US Highway 97, just south of the Big Y. The truck slide into a Washington State Department of Transportation yard off the westside of the highway.

It was speed and slick road conditions that the Washington State Patrol says caused a traffic incident at 1:59 p.m. Tuesday on US Highway 2, 18 miles east of Douglas.

State troopers report that a semi truck driver was unable to maintain control due to excessive speed on a snow covered highway, causing the truck to crash into a guardrail.

Both lanes of the highway were blocked for a time being. The truck was totaled.

The driver and passenger, two men from Miami, were not injured.

Semi truck and trailer slide off US Highway 2, east of Douglas, Tuesday afternoon. Photo courtesy: Washington State Patrol.