Hazardous winter weather detours buses, puts Olympia Farmers Market on pause Friday
Freezing rain that fell overnight Friday in the Olympia area has resulted in closures, detours and some good news: few collisions were reported because many residents decided to stay home.
The Olympia Farmers Market announced late Thursday that it would not open Friday due to the weather. The market is expected to resume operations 10-3 p.m. Saturday.
Thurston County offices also closed Friday because of the winter weather.
The icy conditions caused a few wrecks on the roads Friday morning, Thurston County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Cameron Simper told The Olympian, but for the most part, people are staying home. He said there haven’t been any major issues on county roads, but state troopers have seen a few vehicles struggle with the elements on I-5.
And many of Intercity Transit’s bus routes were on standard snow detours Friday morning, according to the transportation service’s website. You can check online to see if your route is being detoured online. Some of them include Routes 12, 21, 41, 42, 45 and 47, but there are several more.
Buses won’t be stopping on hills, due to the icy conditions. Instead, people are being asked to wait for their bus at the bottom of the hill. For more information, call Customer Service at 360-786-1881.
The farmers market holiday event is a bonus weekend for the market before it closes down for a couple of weeks. Then it will reopen Jan. 7 for the first day of its winter season. It will operate 10-3 p.m. Saturdays through March. Visit the market’s website for more information.
According to the National Weather Service, which tracks conditions at the Olympia Regional Airport, the freezing rain will turn to just rain Friday afternoon, with wind chills bringing temperatures down between 23 and 33 degrees. There may also be wind gusts of up to 21 mph. Temperatures will rise tonight and the winds will die down, but the chance for rain will increase from 60% to 80%.
More rain is expected over the weekend, with 20-mph wind gusts making a return. Saturday has a 100% chance of rain, with up to 0.75 inches possible. The high chance of rain will continue into Christmas Day, but temperatures will rise, with a high near 53 degrees expected.
This story was originally published December 23, 2022 at 10:12 AM.
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