Snow makes a mess of things, ice a concern overnight

The snow that fell across Western Washington this morning tied up traffic, closed highways, and caused a slippery commute.

The flakes, which brought three inches of accumulation in some places, eased off about 10 a.m. and the precipitation turned to rain.

Nonetheless, as temperatures drop this evening, the Seattle area is in for another round of icy roads tonight.

No additional snow is in the forecast and the Weather Service is expecting warmer temperatures, possibly in the 40s during the day.

Most commuters on the roads this morning once again felt the full force of winter driving.

Westbound I-90, just east of North Bend, was closed at 10 a.m. this morning because of several accidents, including jack-knifed semis and disabled cars. It's unclear when the westbound lanes will re-open, according to the State Patrol. Traffic was backed up as far as 11 miles.

One lane of westbound I-90 had reopened by this afternnon.

As of late morning, State Patrol Trooper Jeff Merrill described the situation as a complete mess.

"We have rollovers, we have tanker trucks involved. It's as bad as it's ever going to get out here."

Troopers are investigating tanker trucks that have rolled onto cars, semis that have toppled into ditches and about 20 cars that have been in wrecks. No major injuries were reported.

"It's going to take hours before we get all of this cleaned up out here," Merrill said.

Lauren Chudecke, a spokeswoman for the state Transportation Department, said plowing, sanding and deicing trucks were working mainly on Interstates 5, 90 and 405. Worse than normal backups quickly developed along those and lesser commuting routes.

Local governments have little snow removal equipment and there was still ice on numerous streets in shaded areas from the few inches of snow that fell last week. City crews concentrated on arterials used by inbound traffic, according to a statement issued by Marybeth Turner, spokeswoman for Seattle Transportation Department.

Public schools were closed in Seattle, Tacoma, Everett, Bremerton and numerous suburban areas and outlying towns. Classes also were canceled at dozens of private and parochial schools.

Troopers in King and Snohomish counties said traffic was relatively light this morning and motorists tried to drive carefully. Some places in the Seattle area, including the Eastside and West Seattle, are still dealing with slick roads from snowfall last week.

Between 4 a.m. and 8:45 a.m., Seattle police responded to 30 non-injury accidents, said spokesman Sean Whitcomb. There were also two collisions that left people hurt, but none of the injuries was serious, he said.

King County Metro drivers struggled to make it through their routes, with some buses jackknifed..

There are 23 sanding and plowing trucks are currently working in Seattle, said Marybeth Turner, spokeswoman for Seattle Department of Transportation.

"We expect to work in this mode until mid-day," Turner said, adding that the trucks will be out again tonight to apply de-icer and apply sand.

With about an inch on the roads near Everett, troopers in Snohomish County say the roadways weren't too bad.

"From what it looks like to me, most people are heeding the advice and staying home," Trooper Kirk Rudeen said from Everett. "Traffic isn't as heavy as it normally is.

"The only thing we're worried about is if it freezes up in time for tonight's commute," he said.

While Paine Field in Everett has about a half inch, Lynnwood got one to two inches.

"After the early morning snow, we have compact snow and ice that's been polished by traffic," said. Lynnwood police Sgt. Frank Axtman. "Sanding crews are out, so the main streets are passable."

"Watch your speed and slow down at intersections even if there are green lights," Axtman said.

The commute across Lake Washington on I-90 was slow, and several vehicles were stopped along approaches and exits and under the overpasses on Mercer Island.

In Bellevue, plows cleared the streets, where packed snow that had accumulated at major intersections where traffic was at a crawl.

In Pierce County, a semi jackknifed on I-5 and blocking all southbound lanes.

The driver of an empty fuel tanker apparently lost control and slid into a jersey barrier around 10 a.m., said Trooper Mark Lewis. The semi didn't hit any other vehicles before coming to rest in the middle of the roadway.

The driver was taken to a local hospital for minor injuries.

Traffic is slowly creeping by on the shoulder, Lewis said.

Jennifer Sullivan: 206-464-8294 or jensullivan@seattletimes.com

Seattle Times staff reporters Christopher Schwarzen, Ashley Bach and Pamela Sitt and The Associated Press contributed to this report.