Snowstorm Causes Precarious Driving 200 Accidents In Southwestern Washington

A fast-moving snowstorm caused dozens of accidents Sunday in whiteout conditions in southwestern Washington, especially along the Interstate 5 corridor and through the Columbia River Gorge.

More than 200 accidents, mostly spin-outs and fender benders, were reported in Pierce, Thurston, Grays Harbor, Pacific, Lewis, Wahkiakum, Cowlitz, Clark, Skamania and Klickitat counties.

As of Sunday afternoon, however, no storm-related accidents involving fatalities, major injuries or multi-vehicle pileups had been reported, Washington State Patrol communication officers said.

The patrol issued an appeal to motorists to avoid all but essential travel between Tacoma and the Columbia River.

The storm was more severe in northwestern Oregon, forcing a two-hour shutdown of Portland International Airport and longer closures of Interstate 84 through the gorge and U.S. Highway 30 east of Astoria.

Snow also fell in parts of Eastern Washington, but no significant traffic problems were reported, a WSP dispatcher in Yakima said.

Except for roads already closed for the season, all state and federal highways in Washington remained open. ut chains were required on state Highway 14 through the gorge, U.S. Highway 97 in southern Klickitat County and U.S. Highway 12 through White Pass. In Oregon, heavy snow in the Columbia Gorge forced closure of I-84.

Unofficial Washington snowfall totals reported to the National Weather Service included 11 inches in Centralia, 8-1/2 inches in Olympia, 6 inches in Shelton, 4 inches in Puyallup and 3-1/2 inches in Federal Way.

The storm reduced visibility to near zero on Interstate 5 from the northern outskirts of Vancouver, Wash., north to about Chehalis before abating Sunday afternoon, a WSP dispatcher in Vancouver said. “It came upon us fairly quickly,” said Craig Larson, a WSP communication supervisor in Tacoma.

Between midnight and about 1 p.m., dispatchers in the regional WSP office in Tacoma logged 96 accidents in Pierce and Thurston counties and 112 in counties to the south.

Freezing rain and snow were blamed for 121 other accidents in the counties south of Thurston between 3 and 11 p.m. Saturday night.