Afternoon commute won't be as bad, but many roads may ice overnight

This afternoon's commute isn't expected to be as bad as this morning's due to the snow and ice, but the state fears tomorrow morning's drive to work could be dicey.

State Department of Transportation officials say that while sunny and breezy afternoon conditions today will help dry out the roadways — melting some of the snow and ice — temperatures will drop this evening and overnight, freezing whatever moisture is left on the roads.

"We're concerned about ice for the morning commute," DOT spokeswoman Lauren Chudecke said late this morning.

Johnny Burg, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, also says sunny skies today will help melt the snow and he, too, worries that when the temperatures drop overnight the roads will re-freeze.

He said temperatures should climb to 34 degrees in the Seattle area today, and drop to 20 degrees tonight. Temperatures are expected to start dipping below freezing between 5 to 6 p.m.

From the Alaskan Way Viaduct in downtown Seattle to the far reaches of Interstate 90 near Issaquah, drivers spun and sputtered.

"We're having all kinds of problems," said State Patrol Trooper Jeff Merrill. "We're having a dozen accidents we're investigating and there are dozens of wrecks they're not investigating because they're not as major."

Ice is clinging tightly to elevated road structures, causing major problems, Merrill said. The viaduct was shut down at 6 a..m. for more than a half hour so de-icing crews could remedy the problem — that was after several wrecks earlier in the morning, said Gregg Hirakawa, spokesman for the Seattle Department of Transportation.

State DOT crews and troopers saw heavy traffic problems on Interstate 5 near Federal Way, South Center and the "S-Curves" through Renton, Merrill said. Just like the last major snow on Nov. 27, crews were sanding and de-icing through a graveyard of cars abandoned along eastside roads.

The snow and ice Wednesday night again caused drivers to dump their cars along Sunset Way in Issaquah and along I-5 near Factoria, Merrill said. Tow truck drivers are busily trying to yank cars out of ditches and impound cars to clear the way for work crews, Merrill said.

"It's just going to be one of those grinders. We're hoping that traffic is thin enough that we can keep our equipment moving," Merrill said about this morning's commute. "If you don't have to go out don't go out."

In Seattle, the worst of the snow and ice is in West Seattle, Hirakawa said. Downtown streets are relatively clear this morning.

Also in West Seattle, about 2,800 City Light customers lost power this morning. A City Light spokesman said the cause of the outages is unclear. There was no estimated time for power to return.

Commuters traveling to work on King County Metro or Community Transit should expect delays today. Metro is operating on snow schedules.

Troopers also saw major problems this morning, up and down the I-5 corridor from Snohomish County to the Canadian border.

There are nearly five inches of snow and thick roadways of ice in much of Skagit and Whatcom counties, said Trooper Kirk Rudeen. A major commute hazard was on I-5 southbound from Marysville because of ice and a group of wrecks

"If you're heading southbound on I-5 from Marysville, it's an absolute parking lot," Rudeen said. "It's 28 degrees and you don't want to be driving 60 miles per hour. Slow down, take your time and be prepared for a long commute."

While only one inch of snow was reported in North Seattle and three inches at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, five inches fell in Beacon Hill and Des Moines, according to the National Weather Service.

Three inches fell in Kent and Tacoma, seven inches in Duvall, six inches in Maple Valley, Federal Way and Issaquah. Thirteen inches fell in Fall City, nine inches in Snoqualmie Ridge, ten inches in Sultan and seven inches in Bellingham.

While no additional snow is expected in the coming days, forecasters are warning of below freezing temperatures. Today and Friday, the temperatures in the Puget Sound region should hover in the low 30s, said meteorologist Chris Burke. Overnight lows are expected to be in the upper teens.

Warmer temperatures are predicted this weekend. Saturday should bring temperatures in the upper 30s. Temperatures on Sunday are expected to be in the upper 40s.

Wednesday afternoon's commute might have felt like terrible déjà vu. On Nov. 27, snow and ice rolled through the Seattle area during the afternoon commute, slowing traffic in some areas and halting it in others.

Wednesday's late-arriving snowstorm similarly snarled traffic and frustrated drivers.

Though the DOT began preparing Friday for this weather, there was nothing road crews could do to keep the highways from backing up, officials said.

In preparation, the DOT had pulled some plows off of Snoqualmie Pass, brought crews over from Eastern Washington and put its employees on 24-hour shifts to deal with the weather, McCormick said. There were more than 200 Department of Transportation trucks on the road.

But crews couldn't do anything to prevent the spinouts and minor collisions that backed up major highways.

Interstate 90 was a particular problem Wednesday night when snow hit Mercer Island at the height of the commute. Drivers reported spending hours on a commute that would normally take minutes. As in November, some drivers abandoned their cars rather than wait out the storm and traffic tangle.

Interstate 5, I-405 and Highway 520 weren't much better. It took as long as an hour to drive from I-5 to I-405 on Highway 520. Road work on I-405 at Highway 527 that was to close some lanes was put off until Saturday because of the weather.

In West Seattle, an inch or more of snow had fallen at Ida and 41st streets, where an accordion-style Metro bus was stuck about 6:30 p.m. trying to turn onto 41st from Ida. Several men with shovels tried to free it. There were no chains on the bus' tires. Other buses also became stranded throughout the region.

"In any kind of storm situation the buses are just like cars," said Metro Transit spokeswoman Linda Thielke. "If the cars are going to get stuck, the buses are going to get stuck."

Most of the weather-related traffic accidents throughout the region were minor, but in Kitsap County on Highway 307, a 30-year-old woman died when her car hit ice and crossed into oncoming traffic, hitting a pickup truck. Gemma Collins, a Bremerton resident who was in the Navy, died from her injuries, according to the State Patrol. The driver of the pickup was not injured.

In British Columbia, at least 16 vehicles were stuck when a blizzard rolled through the northeastern section of the province. Rescue crews used helicopters and snowmobiles to search for drivers and passengers. No injuries were reported even though a wind chill made the weather feel like minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit

The Department of Transportation said it took cues in its preparation from the late November icy commute that turned many of the region's major highways into parking lots.

"Every time we do something we gain a little bit of knowledge," McCormick said. "Every storm is different so we're going to approach it differently."

Information from Reuters was used in this report.