Wash. allows studded tires a week early

OLYMPIA — Washington’s Transportation Department says it’s OK to start using studded tires because the season’s first snow is falling in the Cascade and Olympic mountains. The department says that some of the higher Cascades passes such as Chinook or North Cascades could get up to 2 feet of snow. Normally studded tires aren’t allowed until Nov. 1. Because the tires can damage roadways, the department is asking motorists who aren’t driving across the passes to wait a week to put them on, since the weather should start clearing up on Wednesday.