Snow and slush bring crashes in Thurston County

It was a white Christmas for some areas in Thurston County.

Less than an inch fell over the Olympia area, according to the National Weather Service, while areas such as Rochester saw as much as 2 inches Tuesday.

Snow made roads wet and slushy along Interstate 5, U.S. Highway 101 and state Route 8.

The Washington State Patrol responded to 35 crashes in Thurston County within about four and a half hours Tuesday morning.

“Conditions change by the mile,” Gill said. “Be prepared.”

In one crash, the driver of a pickup lost control, losing a boat he was towing on I-5 near Olympia, Trooper Guy Gill said.

Most of the crashes were reported on state Route 8 and U.S. 101, with drivers going too fast for the conditions.

As the morning progressed, any snow that had accumulated began to melt away as snow turned to rain.

“It stopped doing snow (in Olympia) at around 8:44 a.m.,” said meteorologist Johnny Burg. “The Hood Canal area could take a little while longer because you have colder air that hangs around.”

Rain is expected to continue throughout most of the week, possibly not letting up until Friday, followed by another weaker storm system into the weekend, meteorologist Dana Felton said.

“There is a chance of rain Friday night into Saturday, and then it’s dry after that for a day or two,” Felton said.

Chelsea Krotzer: 360-754-5476
ckrotzer@theolympian.com
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@chelseakrotzer