NorthwestJanuary 5, 2004

Erin Van Bronkhorst

A cold dome of Arctic air stayed over Washington and Oregon Sunday, pushing temperatures to near zero in some areas as the region braced for major snowfall.

Even the normally mild western half of Washington state saw temperatures dip into the 20s Sunday.

A missing skier was found alive but hypothermic after more than four days in the chilly Cascades. Dan Witkowski, 25, Ellensburg, was discovered as dusk fell Sunday by searchers who had found his tracks.

He had set out alone Wednesday in the Alpental ski area near Snoqualmie Pass, Wash., but failed to meet friends that night. He was reported missing the next day.

In Spokane, temperatures dropped to 15 below zero overnight Saturday, with 6 inches of snow on the ground Sunday. Temperatures were expected to stay in single digits and below zero Monday.

Snow remained on the ground in most parts of Eastern Washington, with 9 inches in Ritzville and 16 inches at Boundary Dam near Ione.

The National Weather Service warned that a strong Pacific storm would move into the Pacific Northwest late Monday, bringing warmer moisture into contact with the cold air.

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Moderate to heavy snow was expected across all of Washington, including the lowlands, and Oregon. The snow was forecast to turn to rain in the lowlands Tuesday.

Snow was also forecast in the Olympics and Cascades, changing to freezing rain on approaches to the mountain passes on Tuesday.

"While it is too early to say exactly how much snow will fall, this event has the potential to be the heaviest and most widespread snow event for the Western Washington lowlands since the heavy snows after Christmas in 1996," the weather service said.

A changeover to rain on Tuesday could further worsen driving conditions by turning snow on the ground into thick slush, the weather service said.

In Bellingham on Sunday, winds of 30 to 40 mph sent temperatures with wind chill down to 5 to 10 degrees below zero.

Roads in the northern and southern parts of Western Washington were icy, with dozens of drivers spinning out but no injuries reported.

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