Blizzard warning for Spokane, snow across Wash.

People in most of Eastern Washington were told Monday to prepare for a rare blizzard as the first severe storm of the winter blasted through the state, though weather officials said it was too early to tell if the rough weather would affect Thanksgiving holiday travel later in the week.

The National Weather Service also posted a winter storm warning for the Puget Sound area south to Vancouver and warned of hazardous conditions throughout the rest of the state.

Heavy snow - up to 10 inches in Spokane - was expected until midmorning Tuesday, along with north winds of 20 to 25 mph and stronger gusts. The snow, wind, subzero temperatures and a wind chill in the minus 20s will make travel extremely dangerous, the service said in its blizzard warning.

Mike Fries at the weather service office in Spokane said it was the first blizzard warning the office had issued since it opened in the mid-1990s.

What makes a storm a blizzard is wind, he said.

Two people were killed Monday morning when the car they were in slid on a snowy road at Cowiche near Yakima and collided with another car, the Washington State Patrol said.

In Tacoma, a Pierce County Transit bus slid down a steep hill and overturned near the University of Washington campus. Transit system spokesman Lars Erickson said 20 people were aboard, and fire department spokesman Joe Meinecke said 12 were taken to hospitals to be checked out. No serious injuries were reported.

Eastbound Interstate 90 west of Snoqualmie Pass was reopened by the state Transportation Department after crews cleared many spinouts.

Sunshine was forecast Tuesday in Seattle and Wednesday in Spokane, giving a window for holiday travel. But temperatures will stay near or below zero in much of Eastern Washington and Spokane, with a chance of more snow on Thanksgiving. Partly cloudy skies will be over Seattle on Wednesday, with cold rain arriving by the next day.

For holiday travelers, "It's a little too early to tell how much of an impact it will have," said weather service meteorologist Dennis D'Amico in Seattle.

Seattle-Tacoma International Airport was keeping runways and taxiways clear, said spokesman Perry Cooper.

"It's nothing we can't handle," he said. "We've had no major delays due to the snow. We're pretty confident. We've been through this before."

Many schools closed or opened late Monday. In Seattle, numerous accidents jammed Interstate 5 and major commuting routes, with the snowfall getting heavier as nighttime approached.

Many drivers opted to stay home.

Alejandro Valladares, 47, who lives in West Seattle, stopped at a hardware store Monday to buy two sleds for his kids.

"We decided not to take them to school and I'm sure they're going to ask me to take them out in the snow," he said. "It's pretty but I don't like to drive in snow."

Cities and counties were plowing streets and putting down deicer, and many opened warming shelters for the homeless.

Many government offices closed early. At Joint Base Lewis-McChord south of Tacoma, nonessential service members and civilian employees were sent home at midafternoon.

In the Seattle area, the weather service said the snow would be driven by north winds of 20 to 30 mph with local gusts near 40 mph. The wind and temperatures near freezing meant a wind chill factor in the teens.

A steady snowfall covered the Everett area, said Snohomish County spokesman Christopher Schwarzen.

"Right now, we have about a dozen trucks out, but we're mounting every plow and sander we have in preparation for worse weather," he said.

Such efforts might help for awhile, but the blizzard ultimately will win, Fries said.

"Any road that is plowed or treated is just going to blow over again," he said.

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Associated Press photographer Ted Warren in Tacoma and writers Phuong Le and Donna Gordon Blankinship in Seattle and Nicholas K. Geranios in Spokane contributed to this report.