SPOKANE — Snow fell across much of Washington on Wednesday, with this city in the northeast part of the state declaring a snow emergency and vowing that its snowplows would be working 24 hours a day until the streets were clear.
Most areas of Spokane had picked up 8 inches of snow by evening, with another 5-10 inches expected by daybreak today, said National Weather Service meteorologist Jeffrey Cote.
Spokane police advised during the evening commute that most city streets should be considered closed. Dozens of traffic accidents were reported.
In Western Washington, a University of Washington weather expert, Cliff Mass, suggested that the Olympic Mountains helped shield the central Puget Sound region from the snow that fell Wednesday to the north and south.
Numerous snow-related accidents were reported from Snohomish County north to the Canadian border, Washington State Patrol trooper Keith Leary said. Near-whiteout conditions were the rule during part of the day.
The eastern Skagit County town of Concrete reported about 14 inches of snow.
Snoqualmie and Stevens passes in the Cascade Mountains both reported about a foot of new snow. The Summit at Snoqualmie ski area just off I-90 announced that recent storms would allow it to open for the season Friday with limited operations.
Olympia reported about 4 inches of snow and eastern Lewis County had up to 6 inches, said Dennis D’Amico, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Seattle.
Even the Fort Lewis Army base, between Olympia and Tacoma along I-5, advised that only essential personnel should report for duty prior to 10 a.m. today, to minimize traffic and allow road crews time to deal with icy conditions.
The Weather Service said a winter storm warning remained in effect through this morning for most of northwest Washington as well as the Cascades and Olympics.
More frigid air from Canada was expected to keep low temperatures below freezing into the weekend in Western Washington, meteorologist Ted Buehner said.
He said there’s a chance of a white Christmas in Seattle, something that happens about 7 percent of the time historically.
Another storm system could bring more snow Saturday night.
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