Snow again visits Western Washington

What a snowy winter this has been.

Many Western Washingtonians woke up this morning to find snow flurries coming down outside pretty thickly between 4 AM and 6 AM this morning. In some areas (including Redmond) the snow is still falling, but temperatures are expected to rise to forty degrees Farenheit by 5 PM tonight, which should make roadways drivable for the evening commute and cause much of the snow to melt.

The National Weather Service says:

ADDITIONAL SNOWFALL OF AN INCH OR TWO AND FREEZING TEMPERATURES WILL WARRANT CAUTION THIS MORNING...

HAZARDOUS DRIVING CONDITIONS WILL BE THE RULE ACROSS WESTERN WASHINGTON THIS MORNING DUE TO SNOW THAT HAS ALREADY FALLEN...POSSIBLE ACCUMULATIONS OF ANOTHER INCH OR TWO...AND FREEZING TEMPERATURES.

SCATTERED SNOW SHOWERS WILL CONTINUE THIS MORNING AS THE UPPER LEVEL LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM OVER THE AREA MOVES EASTWARD. LOCAL ADDITIONAL ACCUMULATIONS OF AN INCH OR TWO ARE POSSIBLE. IN ADDITION TEMPERATURES HAVE FALLEN BELOW FREEZING ACROSS MOST OF WESTERN WASHINGTON THIS MORNING...SO ROADS AND SIDEWALKS WILL BE ICY EVEN IF THEY ARE FREE OF SNOW.

THESE CONDITIONS WILL BE RELATIVELY SHORT LIVED. TEMPERATURES WILL CLIMB ABOVE FREEZING BY NOON TODAY WITH HIGHS AROUND 40...AND MOST OF THE AREA WILL HAVE PARTLY SUNNY SKIES.

The fast melt is welcome news, because few have forgotten the prolonged Arctic blast that made getting around miserably difficult in December.

The snow and ice is causing a number of Metro delays and reroutes. The agency has a fairly complete list of what's affected at their website.

SDOT released this update an hour and a half ago:

Crews were dedicated specifically to the West Seattle Bridge and the Alaskan Way Viaduct, and salt was applied to make sure they remained in good condition. Roadway Structures crews inspected bridges and overpasses to make sure walkways were passable and snow was not presenting a problem for opening and closing the moveable bridges. Trucks with plows and sanders were also directed to trouble spots in West Seattle and Southeast Seattle, called in by Seattle Police and King County Metro Transit.

By 7 a.m. air temperatures were rising and snow was turning to slush on many streets. Crews will continue plowing and sanding as long as they are needed.

Numerous highways, including SR 520 and I-405, are parking lots this morning, with spinouts and collisions causing big backups. Many Puget Sound area school districts have decided to go with a two hour delayed start as opposed to closing all day, although a few districts (like Bellevue) have decided to shut down.

If you're going out this morning, take it easy and be careful.