Travelers warned of possible icy conditions during Monday morning commute

Travelers should be alert come Monday morning for snow, wind and ice in some areas of Western Washington, where there could be up to 3 inches of snow.

The Seattle metropolitan area will see 1-3 inches of snow, temperatures in the teens and winds up to 25 mph by day's end, said National Weather Service meteorologist Dennis D'Amico.

"It will develop right at the end of the morning rush-hour traffic and continue through the afternoon," he said. "We predict the snow will stick."

Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) applied anti-icing material on hills and icy spots Sunday night. If any snow starts to accumulate Monday morning, SDOT reports the crews will begin to plow snow routes.

Because of the possibility of snow during the Monday-morning commute, King County Metro Transit will start service with buses in all areas on snow routes. Bus riders should check kingcounty.gov/metro/snow before traveling on Monday.

Metro said while the accumulations are not expected to be deep, its managers want to be prepared and don't want to change to snow routes during the middle of the busiest travel times.

Some school districts announced schedule changes, with the Enumclaw School District saying it would be closed Monday, according to televison news reports. Other school districts in Western Washington announced delays to the start of the school day Monday, including two-hour delays and the cancellation of some programs in the Puyallup, Eatonville, Sumner and Orting districts in Pierce County, according to the TV reports.

Information on school closures and delays can be found at schoolreport.org.

A winter-weather advisory is issued through Monday evening for Western Washington, including the Seattle area, Olympic Mountains, North and Central Cascades and as far away as Vancouver to the south and Bellingham to the north.

D'Amico said the weak system moving in from northern Canada won't cause damaging winds or floods but just enough snow to stress out drivers and create a nasty windchill that will force people to bundle up.

"Two inches can cause a world of problems for us," he added.

The heaviest snowfall — 3 inches — will be south of Tacoma, including Olympia and Chehalis.

"If traveling on Interstate I-5 from Olympia to Oregon, expect hazardous conditions like snow on the roads and low visibility at times," he said. "It's not a great time to travel if you don't have to."

The best defense is to plan ahead and be patient on the roads and streets. Drivers should have appropriate tires, a shovel and sand, as well as extra food and clothing in the car.

"This will be our first real test since two years ago when we got creamed for a week — we'll see if people remember," D'Amico said.

At that time, several huge snowstorms hit the Seattle area, dumping almost 10 inches of snow and paralyzing the city. Last year there was no snow accumulation.

The Bellingham area isn't expected to get snow Monday but will get smacked with near-zero temperatures because of wind chill.

D'Amico said predicting snowfall can be challenging in the Seattle area because of the Pacific Ocean, which prevents the area from getting too hot in the summer and too cold in the winter.

"We are so often close to that rain and snow line that it can be difficult to tell," he said. "It's unique to our area and Portland."

The National Weather Service receives computer-model reports that indicate when and where it will snow and then the meteorologists interpret them.

Christine Willmsen: 206-464-3261