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<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   Related Stories • Snow brings delight along with dangers, school closures 1/28/08 • Snow makes roads dangerous, closes schools 1/28/08 • Sun provides short-lived break from bad weather 1/28/08 • If you've got snow, prepare for more 1/27/08   CONTACT THE HERALD Robert Frank, City Editor frank@heraldnet.com   Published: Monday, January 28, 2008 Evening commute shouldn't be as bad as this morning Herald Staff People getting ready to drive home from work today should prepare for a slow and possibly slick commute, officials said. Most Snohomish County roads are bare and wet, but some side streets may still have ice and snow. Either way, roads might be slippery and treacherous. Snow and ice blanketed most of the county this morning, making for a slow, and in places, dangerous morning commute. Most area schools were closed. Dozens of cars skidded into ditches and crashed into curbs, Washington State Patrol trooper Kirk Rudeen said. On I-405, some people stopped to put on chains in the middle of traffic causing backups and making it hard for snow plows and police to make their way, Rudeen said. Commutes that typically take 30 minutes were extended, in some cases by hours. Kathy Grant, a spokeswoman for the Granite Falls School District, described a difficult three-hour commute from her home on Camano Island early today. Particularly treacherous were stretches on East Camano Drive and on Getchell Road from Highway 9 to Highway 92, she said. “I stopped counting all the cars in the ditch because there were so many,” Grant said. This afternoon’s commute shouldn’t be as bad, officials said. Still, people should be prepared for tough conditions by slowing down and leaving plenty of space between vehicles, he said. It shouldn’t start snowing heavily again around 10 p.m., said Jamie Holter, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Transportation. Whatever snow does fall isn't expected to last. The latest forecasts suggest the snow likely will turn to rain shortly after midnight. “There should not be a horrible icy commute Tuesday morning,” Holter said. Major snowfall is expected in the Cascades, including on U.S. 2 at Stevens Pass where 2 feet of fresh snow is projected to fall between 6 p.m. today and 6 p.m. Tuesday. “It is a ton of snow,” Holter said. “We’ve got lots of trucks out ready to move snow.” The state already has placed three snow blowers, four plows, three scoop loaders and one grader at the pass in an effort to keep up with the snowfall, Holter said. The worst snowfall along U.S. 2 is expected early Tuesday morning, and likely will be accumulating well below the pass summit, she said.

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