SEATTLE -- Heavy snow and fierce winds closed highways through the Cascade Range in Washington state early Thursday, contributing to a number of accidents.

Stevens Pass was open again, while Snoqualmie Pass has been closed off-and-on Thursday for avalanche control and snow removal. White Pass will be closed until Thursday evening to clear avalanches.

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The National Weather Service issued an unusual blizzard warning through Thursday afternoon for the north and central Cascades and predicted 15 to 30 inches of new snow in the mountains by Friday morning.

An avalanche closed Stevens Pass at 2 a.m. High winds gusting to 100 mph kept the pass closed until midday.

Interstate 90 through Snoqualmie Pass and U.S. 12 through White Pass were closed because of avalanche control, spontaneous snow slides or heavy snow and limited visibility. The closures left state Route 14 through the Columbia River gorge as the state's only east-west overland link for a time early Thursday.

I-90 was later reopened, but authorities warned that it could be closed again -- temporarily or indefinitely -- because of the treacherous avalanche conditions and foul weather.

At Snoqualmie Pass, KIRO 7 Eyewitness News reporter Chris Egert and his crew were stranded after an 11 p.m. report Wednesday night. Snow was piled up high behind him during live reports Thursday morning.

"There is a ton of snow up here," Egert said, as video showed the top of a 40-foot gas station sign poking out of a giant snow bank.