Snow makes for slow going in Eastern Washington

By Nicholas K. Geranios

Associated Press

SPOKANE – Heavy snow fell on top of ice in the Spokane area Tuesday, making driving treacherous.

More than 4 inches of snow fell overnight in a broad area stretching from Spokane east to Sandpoint and Moscow, Idaho, the National Weather Service said.

I-90 was particularly slick through Spokane, with dozens of fender benders reported to law enforcement officers during the morning commute. There were no reports of serious injuries.

“There was compact snow and ice and slush on the road,” said Washington State Patrol Sgt. Ken Wade. “That can throw rigs around.”

U.S. 2 in Eastern Washington also had snow and ice that caused numerous accidents, Wade said.

There were 49 accidents reported Tuesday morning in Spokane County alone, the patrol said.

Classes were canceled in the Davenport School District, west of Spokane, because winds were blowing snow across U.S. 2, making driving extremely hazardous.

“When you put wind behind those 4 inches and drifts start to stack up, it’s dangerous,” said Gary Greene, superintendent of schools in Davenport.

Some kids spent the day off sliding down hills on sleds.

Street-cleaning crews in Spokane were caught by surprise as the storm was only expected to drop an inch or so of snow.

“It all came at the time everybody was ready to go to work,” said Larry Neil, director of the city streets department.

Snow plows and de-icing trucks worked through the day to clear the streets.

Record snowfall of 4 inches in the 24 hours that ended Tuesday morning was recorded at Boundary Dam near the Canadian border, north of Metaline Falls. The old record of 1 1/2inches was set in 1978.

The snow set back efforts to restore electrical power in some rural parts of Pend Oreille County.

Up to 1,000 customers of the Pend Oreille Public Utility District remained without power Tuesday, said spokeswoman Eileen Dugger.

“We lost a little bit of ground last night,” Dugger said. “We’re projecting it will be Sunday before we complete all the repairs.”

Some households in the region have been without electricity since a weekend storm snapped trees and power lines.

The utility serves about 7,000 customers, but many live in Newport, which was not much affected, Dugger said.

Still, costs of the repairs could approach $1 million, she said.

Northern Lights, Inc., which supplies power to many people in northern Idaho, expected to have nearly all power restored Tuesday, spokeswoman Elissa Glassman said. Most of the outages were in the Priest Lake area.