WENATCHEE — Most of North Central Washington escaped the high winds and heavy rain that doused and rattled residents and left thousands of homes without power Thursday night in Western Washington. Wenatchee received about 0.02 inch of rain Thursday night, when wind gusted to more than 30 mph at times.

The National Weather Service is calling for very unstable air to continue to come in off the Pacific through Saturday. A winter-storm advisory is in effect for the Cascades through Saturday night, with up to 2 feet of snow possible. The snow level likely will drop to 3,000 feet Saturday, meaning dicey travel over all Cascade passes, said Rocco Pelati, NWS forecaster.

“It could make the passes pretty interesting,” Pelati said. “It’s an interesting air mass of tropical storms meeting up with arctic cold. It looks like a big cinnamon roll out there.”

The storm has already brought heavy rain, strong wind and even thunder and lightning to the coast and through British Columbia, he said. The shadow of the Cascades should continue to protect NCW, however. There’s a 40 percent chance of rain for Wenatchee on Saturday, with mostly sunny skies Sunday before fickle weather and a chance of rain resumes Monday, Pelati said. Wenatchee highs will be about 50 and lows in the mid-30s through the weekend.