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Snow falling on mountain passes for Thanksgiving travel

If you’re traveling east for the holiday, be prepared for more snow on the mountain passes, especially Wednesday night through Thursday night.

Here’s what to know now.

>> Related photos: Snow falls at Stevens Pass

Winter Storm Warning for Cascades and Olympics through early Thursday evening

Meteorologist Morgan Palmer says Wednesday afternoon he expects anywhere from eight to 16 inches of snow from tonight through mid-afternoon Thanksgiving Day at the lower mountains passes with Stevens Pass (US2) likely being on the higher end of the range and Snoqualmie Pass (I-90) on the lower end.

However, heavier snow squalls can quickly add depth to snow and cause travel problems and possibly pass closures.

While the Winter Storm Warning expires at 4 p.m. Thursday, Palmer expects snow -- heavy at times -- to extend into the early hours of Friday morning before slowly tapering.

Wind Advisory for the south coast and across the northern waters/islands, western Whatcom/western Skagit for Wednesday night through Thursday.

Over Thanksgiving, these areas could see sustained 25-35 MPH wind with gusts over 50 mph. We could have gusts over 40 in the lowlands on Thanksgiving, especially later in the day and evening, though those locations are likely to be isolated.

A second burst of wind could come through the lowlands Friday morning, but the location and timing of the strongest wind for the day after Thanksgiving is still uncertain and will be fine-tuned.

All residents of Western Washington should take the usual precautions again gusty winds, including securing trash cans and easily-moved lawn furniture.

Over the holiday weekend, stay updated by downloading our news and weather apps and subscribe to push alerts to get notifications about weather around your home.

Ski resorts are getting ready to open.

Ski resorts published information about when they may open this year.

• Crystal Mountain: Opens Friday.

• Mount Baker: Opens Friday.

• Snoqualmie Pass: "Likely" first week of  Dec.

• Stevens Pass: “Got a few inches of fresh snow overnight, plenty more on the way!”

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