Slick roads cause traffic troubles around Puget Sound with freezing temps expected overnight

Snow, power outages, debris, standing water and crashes have made the roads around Puget Sound challenging, with numerous spinouts and crashes.

There were crashes on Interstate 5 in Lynnwood, Interstate 405 at Richmond Road, Highway 18 and State Route 169, and on I-5 in Everett, to name a few.

Things haven’t been easy on the mountain passes, either.

At about 10:15 a.m., westbound I-90 closed at Cle Elum and Ellensburg after a major crash. Eastbound I-90 reopened after an earlier hours-long closure at North Bend caused by multiple collisions.

Around Puget Sound, some people abandoned their cars during the snowfall, when they were unable to navigate roads.

Even though some areas of Snohomish County only have a few inches of snow remaining, streets are still slick. Some roads are closed in Lynnwood and Edmonds.

Though streets may appear bare, Washington State Patrol Trooper Kelsey Harding is warning drivers to make adjustments, even if there’s not a lot of snow on the road.

Early Wednesday, southbound Interstate 5 was closed at North Lake Samish Drive, south of Bellingham, after a semitruck rolled over.

Washington State Patrol tweeted about the crash at 5:30 a.m. The freeway reopened at about 9:30 a.m.

Unfortunately, things aren’t expected to improve Thursday morning, when the low temperature in Seattle is forecast to be below freezing at 30 degrees.

“It’s not that bad of a snow, but with the cold weather coming next week, if all this freezes that just creates huge issues,” Anthony Hoies with Big Dog Landscaping & Plow said Wednesday.

That means any water, slush or snow on roads and highways will freeze and make driving conditions difficult in some areas, especially in Snohomish County, which received much of Tuesday’s snow.

Read the latest forecast at this link.

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