Herald staff
AND ASSOCIATED PRESS
An afternoon shower on Saturday dropped about 2 inches of snow in places throughout Snohomish County and caused a few fender-bender accidents on northbound I-5.
As much as 3 inches was forecast for overnight Saturday and into Sunday for all areas of Western Washington. Some areas of Eastern Washington also were expected to see measurable snowfall, mostly at higher elevations.
A number of accidents were blamed on snow and ice around Western Washington, including a nine-car pileup that was quickly followed by an accident involving a semitruck and two vehicles on I-5 near Seatac at about 5 a.m., the Washington State Patrol said.
No serious injuries were reported.
"The scariest part is they’re anticipating the same kind of weather for (Sunday) morning," Washington State Patrol spokeswoman Monica Hunter said. "We had to call troopers in early to help with the collisions."
In Pierce County, the driver of a propane tanker truck was killed in a collision with a Jeep on an icy I-5. The accident shut down the freeway from about 4:40 a.m. to noon Saturday.
For the most part, the snow wasn’t sticking during the day Saturday, said Jay Albrecht, a weather service meteorologist.
"Right now, accumulations are hit-and-miss at 1 to 2 inches,” Albrecht said. "You may see snowflakes in the air, but not on the ground until you move up the hills.”
Snow levels in the mountains had dropped to the 200-foot level.
"I wouldn’t call this a big wintry storm, at least not right now,” he said. "This is the type of system you might get once or twice a year. Right now, it looks to be more of an inconvenience than a major winter storm, though we’ll have to monitor it. Snow is very hard to predict here in Seattle."
The fatal accident occurred Saturday morning after the Jeep, driven by a 23-year-old Tacoma woman, lost control on southbound I-5 south of Tacoma and collided with the tanker, which flipped onto its side, the State Patrol said.
The truck driver, 27, of Tacoma, was pronounced dead at Madigan Army Medical Center. The woman was being treated at Providence St. Peter Hospital in Olympia, where her condition was not immediately available.
Snow began falling Friday night. Warming temperatures Saturday brought some relief before snow fell again during a two-hour span late Saturday afternoon. About a half-inch accumulated in the Seattle area, the National Weather Service reported.
The Mason County town of Hoodsport, elevation 800 feet, received more than 5 inches of snow in an eight-hour period Saturday, the weather service said.
State road crews were out in force Saturday, dealing with collisions and working to sand and de-ice roads, Transportation Department dispatcher Mike Kress said.
"All the available people we’ve got are out,” he said.
But the department had expected worse, spokeswoman Clarissa Lundeen said.
"This storm was not as big as we had feared it might be, and our crews were certainly prepared for this,” she said.
Mariners fans braved the afternoon snowstorm as they waited in line outside Safeco Field for 2002 baseball tickets.
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