Like an annual herald of the coming winter, Highway 20, otherwise known as the North Cascades Highway, will close for the season on Thursday.

Crews from the Washington State Department of Transportation will close the highway over Rainy Pass and swing the gates closed at the Ross Dam trailhead and Silver Star gate at 6 p.m., the agency said.

Due to current snow loads in avalanche pathways and snow showers forecast for the North Cascades beginning Friday, crews decided it was time to ring in the yearly closure, WSDOT said.

The North Cascades Highway previously closed for a weekend on Nov. 13 because of “wintry, wet weekend weather” before opening up again for less than a month.

The seasonal closure could last months. Last year, the highway closed on Nov. 18 following a temporary weekend

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