Icy roads, school closures and power outages continued today to challenge people living in Snohomish and Island counties.
Snow snarled traffic most of Monday and made for a nightmarish evening commute for many.
Many commuters stayed home this morning rather than brave icy conditions on the roadway, according to Washington State Patrol trooper Keith Leary.
“We’re just not seeing the volume of traffic like we saw yesterday. We’ve got fewer spin outs and collisions,” he said.
Troopers in east Snohomish County have reported some minor collisions, mainly in areas where the roadways are shaded.
Many of the side streets around the county remain icy, Leary said. “Some places it’s like a sheet of ice out there.”
Snohomish County sheriff’s deputies continue to receive numerous reports of trees over the roads, sheriff’s Sgt. Ty Trenary said.
“I think there’s going to be a lot of clean up to get all those trees,” he said.
Schools were closed today in all 14 school districts in Snohomish County: Arlington, Darrington, Edmonds, Everett, Granite Falls, Index, Lake Stevens, Lakewood, Marysville, Monroe, Mukilteo, Snohomish, Sultan, Stanwood.
Island County schools in the Oak Harbor, Coupeville and South Whidbey school districts also were closed today.
Everett Community College, Edmonds Community College and Cascadia Community College in Bothell were all closed, too.
Icy roads are slowing efforts to restore power to about 14,500 Snohomish County PUD customers, said Mike Thorne, a spokesman with the utility.
Northern Snohomish County and Camano Island were hardest hit. Snow-laden trees and branches toppled onto power lines.
The greatest concentration of outages are in Lake Goodwin, Stanwood, Arlington, Darrington and Oso, Thorne said.
The PUD has called on public utility districts in eastern Washington through a mutual aid partnership and private contractors to assist with numerous downed lines.
Thorne said it is difficult to say when customers will all have their power restored.
However, he did say crews made progress overnight, bringing back power to thousands of people.
Snow began falling Sunday, and by Monday, the number of customers without electricity climbed to nearly 59,000.
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