Sun breaks early this afternoon warmed roads enough to melt away some of the snow and compact ice that plagued Snohomish County roads and closed many schools this morning.

The break was expected to be short-lived, however, as more bad weather was forecast to return tonight.

As much as three inches of snow could accumulate in time for Tuesday’s commute.

Road maintenance crews were taking advantage of the warmest hours of the day to scrape as much snow and slush off highways as possible, said Mel Reitz, area maintenance superintendent for the state Department of Transportation.

If the snow isn’t removed, then it could freeze tonight and create a dangerous base for more snow overnight.

“We could get icy patches under the snow,” Reitz said. “Hopefully not. We’ve done this many years and we’re actually pretty good when it comes down to it.”

Temperatures had climbed to 42 degrees by noon, warm enough to help melt the snow but not high enough to allow the roads to dry out completely, he said. He said the warmers hours of the day are typically from noon to 3 p.m.

The warm weather was making traveling much better.

That’s what Gordon and Anita Parkhill, 65 and 63, of Anacortes, were counting on.

They were in Seattle for the weekend and found I-5 too slick to navigate this morning as they made their way home.

They stopped at the Seattle Premium Outlets to see if the roads would thaw, Gordon Parkhill said.

“And also to let the fast cars just drive on by,” his wife said.

The problem isn’t so much the weather as the drivers, said Terrie O’Neal, 60, of Snohomish.

“People don’t realize that if the roads are slick and you have 4-wheel drive, you’ll just drive into the ditch four times faster. But they drive like bats out of a belfry,” she said.

When Hanan Adam, 19, and her brother Ali, 20, left Vancouver, B.C., Friday for a weekend in Seattle, the weather was fine.

They stopped at the outlet malls for a break from driving in the bad weather.

“It was sunny when we left Vancouver on Friday,” Ali Adam said. “We didn’t expect this.”