[ad_1]
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Freezing rain, ice and snowy circumstances sophisticated street and air journey in Washington state, the place mountainous parts of two main roadways have been closed in each instructions Saturday afternoon, officers stated.
Interstate 90 was closed alongside greater than 70 miles (113 kilometers) due to freezing rain and avalanche hazard, state transportation officers stated. The closure consists of Snoqualmie Move and extends from North Bend to Ellensburg.
“That is going to be an prolonged closure with no ETA to open,” the Washington Division of Transportation said on Twitter.
Almost 35 miles (56 kilometers) of U.S. Freeway 2, together with Stevens Move, are additionally closed due to freezing rain and icy circumstances, in line with the company.
An ice storm warning was in impact Saturday afternoon for the Cascades in Snohomish and King Counties, in line with the Nationwide Climate Service. The company has forecast ice accumulations of as much as an inch (2.5 centimeters) within the western approaches to the mountain passes within the space.
The winter storm that has paralyzed giant swaths of the nation over the previous week has thrust snow, freezing rain, ice and frigid temperatures upon Washington state, resulting in a whole lot of flights being canceled and delayed and creating harmful driving circumstances throughout one of many busiest journey intervals of the yr.
State troopers responded to greater than 200 car crashes on Friday alone in western Washington, state trooper Kelsey Harding told KING 5, describing roadways that seemed like ice skating rinks. Harding stated most of the crashes occurred on the most important north-south thoroughfare of Interstate 5.
In a separate submit on Twitter, Harding stated that Whatcom County, residence to Bellingham, had been “inundated with collisions, spin outs, and bushes over the roadway as a result of freezing rain.”
Air journey additionally remained troublesome on Saturday. Almost 200 flights had been canceled at Seattle-Tacoma Worldwide Airport as of 1 p.m., in line with on-line tracker FlightAware.
[ad_2]
Source link
