Storm Coats Mountains With Snow Snoqualmie Pass Closes Briefly; Three Deaths On Roads

The first significant storm of the season blustered into Washington, bringing snow to the mountains and rain and high winds elsewhere.

Black ice, frost and snow may have contributed to accidents east of the Cascades that left at least three people dead Friday, authorities said.

Interstate 90 over Snoqualmie Pass was closed for a while due to snow and high winds, but reopened early Friday morning.

Heavy snowfall in the Methow Valley in western Okanogan County downed power lines and tree branches, temporarily knocking power out from Winthrop to parts of Twisp and farther south Thursday night.

Two people were killed and two injured Friday morning in an accident involving two cars a mile south of Orondo on U.S. 97. State Patrol troopers said they had not yet determined if the crash was caused by weather conditions, although earlier reports indicated that black ice may have played a role.

And Chelan County sheriff’s deputies reported a fatal rollover accident 23 miles up the Entiat River Road near Preston Creek.

Snow blanketed the Cascades. Stevens Pass reported 12 inches of new snow. The ranger station at the 5,500-foot-level of Mount Rainier reported 10 inches in 24 hours.

An additional 6 to 10 inches were expected in the Cascades and Olympics through Friday night, the National Weather Service said.

Because of heavy snow in the mountain passes, the state Department of Transportation on Friday approved the use of studded tires on vehicles. The department doesn’t usually approve studded tires until Nov. 1.

In Western Washington, a Russian couple were rescued Thursday after their boat sailed into a gale off Cape Flattery. Igor and Valentina Bolotin had left Neah Bay Thursday morning, sailing south for San Francisco, when they ran into a storm that ripped the sails off their boat, Coast Guard Cmdr. Ray Miller said.

The couple were picked up by a freighter, then flown by Coast Guard helicopter to Port Angeles. They were OK, but their boat, which they bought by selling their possessions, was lost, the Coast Guard said.