Be ready: More snow may fall tonight

A snowstorm headed into Western Washington this evening could mean headaches for commuters Tuesday morning, even though the snowfall is expected to give way to rain by morning.

"It will still be treacherous for some people," said meteorologist Johnny Burg, of the National Weather Service. "Around rush hour there still might be some icy areas, especially on the side streets or hills."

One to three inches of snow is expected tonight and Tuesday morning in the lowland areas around Puget Sound. Much more — up to three feet — is forecast to fall in the next couple of days in the Cascades and Olympics.

Snow is forecast to start falling about 8 p.m. today on the coast and 10 p.m. in the Puget Sound area.

Forecasters said the snow is expected to turn to rain about 5 a.m. in Seattle and 8 a.m. in Snohomish County and farther north, but the snow on the streets won't immediately disappear when the rain arrives, Burg said.

"It's going to take a while before conditions improve," he said. "People should give themselves extra time or, if they can, take the day off."

Later this week, some snow is possible each night, with rain showers during the day, but no heavy storms are forecast.

Monday morning's commute

Some roads in the area were messy this morning.

Lynnwood police records clerk Michelle Ichihashi was among the first motorists to brave the interstates early this morning, commuting from her Woodinville home into South Snohomish County.

"It's pretty as long as you don't have to drive in it," said Ichihashi, whose SUV made some of the first tracks in the snow on Interstates 405 and 5.

Lynnwood already had 5 inches of snow when she arrived at 5 a.m., she said, and the snow continued to fall for another couple of hours.

There were fender benders all over the place, she said. "No injury accidents, just sliding into each other."

Everett had only an inch of snow this morning.

"I'm monitoring the radios, and I haven't heard a bunch of people crashing and in the ditches," said Everett Police Sgt. Manny Garcia. "We haven't had any out of the ordinary amount of cars stranded or in collisions."

Garcia said he began his morning in Snohomish, where at least 3 inches of snow fell overnight.

School closures

The snow caused several school districts to cancel classes or start late.

The hardest-hit areas, said Alice Fiman, with the State Department of Transportation, were Hood Canal, which reported 6 to 10 inches of snow, and East Pierce County.

The Washington State Patrol said there are weather-related collisions, "but we're not as slammed as we have been in the past," said spokesman Jeff Merrill. "We're able to respond to all our calls."

In Snohomish County, Patrol spokesman Kirk Rudeen said Interstate 5 to Bothell was a parking lot this morning, and Highway 92 to Granite Falls was also a problem for drivers, as was Highway 9 near Marysville. "This is wet, heavy snow," he said, "not the nice dry snow that packs good. This stuff gets no traction."

There were traffic problems in many areas.

"Take a dart and throw it at the map and you'll probably hit a spot where we've had some problems," he said.

"We've had our biggest problems on Interstate 5 around Alderwood; Interstate 405 has been a nightmare between I-5 and Canyon Park in the Bothell area. It's just a whole lot of spin-outs and (minor) crashes."

Rudeen said other highly "dicey" areas, with an exceptional number of problems, include: I-5 through Smokey Point and Marysville; Highway 2 in the Monroe area; Highway 203 between Monroe and Duvall; Highway 9 near Maltby; Highway 92 toward Granite Falls.

One option: Stay home

The nature of this snowfall — wet and heavy — created especially icy road conditions, Rudeen said.

"It's hard to get traction on it," he said. Much of Snohomish County reported just enough snow to create icy road conditions.

"There are a lot of collisions out there. It's slick," said a Lake Stevens Police clerk, who observed about 2 inches of snow at both her Arlington home and in Lake Stevens. "We have quite a few hills here; for the most part people are just staying in."

"Stay home" is a common message this morning from authorities.

Jeff Miller, a Snohomish County sheriff's bureau chief, said the South County area generated the most problems. The State Patrol and county crews are busy all over the county "trying to get people off the roads who've slid to the sides," he said.

"Stay off the road. That's the main thing."

There were no major accidents reported on the Eastside — "just a lot of people who couldn't get their traction going" on West Lake Sammamish Parkway and 520, according to a dispatcher with the Washington State Patrol.

In Redmond, Northeast 104th Street was closed this morning between Avondale Road Northeast to 181st Avenue Northeast, said Jim Bove, spokesman for the Redmond Police Department. And Northeast 40th Street near 163rd Avenue Northeast was labeled as "treacherous" because of several collisions, he said.

Seattle Times staff reporter Sonia Krishnan contributed to this report.

Susan Gilmore: 206-464-2054 or sgilmore@seattletimes.com