Snow follows freezing rain Tuesday night; crashes in Spokane nearing two dozen
Light snow followed by freezing rain coated Spokane before nightfall Tuesday, and slick road conditions caused numerous crashes.
“It would be a good afternoon to stay home,” National Weather Service meteorologist Laurie Nisbet said earlier in the day.
The snow fell in Spokane until about 5 p.m. and was followed by freezing rain for several hours. After midnight, the freezing rain or snow on the ground will likely melt, Nisbet said.
The Spokane Police Department received almost two dozen reports of collisions from 4 p.m. to about 8:20 p.m., according to its Twitter account, and cautioned drivers to slow down.
“Icy roadways are very slippery and dangerous right now,” the tweet stated. “Avoid unnecessary travel. If you must drive SLOW down and leave lots of distance between vehicles.”
Snowfall at the airport totaled about 0.6 inches and about 0.4 inches downtown, Nisbet said.
Spokane County road crews were spreading sand and de-icer on emergency roads and arterials, according to a news release from Spokane County Public Works. Crews are to stop working at midnight and resume at 4 a.m. Wednesday.
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