SNOQUALMIE PASS, Wash. - Snow and icy conditions are forcing drivers to turn around or hunker down Tuesday morning along Interstate 90 at Snoqualmie Pass - and conditions are only expected to get worse in the hours ahead.
Another steady storm has been dumping several inches of snow in the mountains, closing some lanes of I-90 intermittently over the pass. But it's just a prelude to heavier snowfall in the forecast.
A winter storm warning has been issued for the Cascade Mountains calling for about a foot of new snow Tuesday night and another foot Wednesday morning.
"Significant amounts of snow will make travel hazardous or impossible through tonight," says the warning issued by the National Weather Service.
So far, about 12 feet of snow has fallen at Snoqualmie Pass in the month of December.
Meanwhile, the state Department of Transportation has issued a list of restrictions for travel across the passes in an effort to try and keep everyone safe.
Right now, oversized loads are prohibited and chains are required. Many drivers are just waiting it out - but their wait may be a long one.
Heading west, semi trucks that made over the pass are pulled over because they don't want to risk sliding out of control on the way down.
Earlier, near-whiteout conditions, with blowing snow and huge flakes, limited visibility to just a few inches. On the road, the snow was thick enough to obliterate lane markers.
On a normal week, about 600 cars try to cross Snoqualmie Pass through the busiest hours. But on a holiday week like this, that will jump to 1,500 cars an hour. And it won't take much for one spinout or stall to cause problems.