Snow Snarls Traffic; Deep Freeze On The Way

SEATTLE - The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning as snow falls over a broad field of Western Washington, snarling traffic and causing school delays across the region.in Tacoma, 12 people were interpreted to the hospital after a Pierce Transit bus overturned at South nineteenth Street and South Jefferson Avenue. The driver tried to establish a leftover from 19th, a steep street, and the bus overturned at the top of a staircase at UW-Tacoma.

LIDESHOW: Bus Crashes on Icy Tacoma Street WATCH IT: Passengers Escape Overturned BusOn Sunday, the Weather Service issued a winter weather advisory, but by mid-morning on Monday, it was raised to a warning and higher snow accumulations were predicted. a winter storm warning means severe winter weather is occurring or imminent. The admonition is in force until 10 p.m.Seattle Schools said middle school and high school classes will dismiss early at 12:35 p.m. Monday due to the terror of more snow. All activities after 12:35 p.m. including parent-teacher conferences, have been canceled. Latest School Closures, DelaysMetro Transit said buses are on snow routes Monday morning. more details at kingcounty.gov/metro/snow. All Pierce Transit routes are operating on snow detours. see piercetransit.org.Zoos, some administration offices and parks have closed. Non-School ClosuresSLIDESHOW: First Snow Clogs HighwaysSLIDESHOW: Viewer PhotosAs the snow began to collect and traffic volumes increased, cars creeped along Interstate 5, Interstate 90 and Interstate 405. see travel times, flow maps and cameras in our Traffic section.The DOT said both directions of SR 16 between Tacoma and Gig Harbor should be avoided because of numerous accidents.in Seattle, a three-car crash on the Aurora Bridge shortly before 8 a.m. blocked the southbound lanes, causing already slow traffic to cover up.The Seattle Department of Transportation said snow plows hit the streets at 8 a.m. but told the City Council that residential streets will not be plowed or treated because they are too narrow or hilly. in the U.S. San Francisco is the metropolis with the most hills, with Seattle coming in second.SDOT said 25 salt brine trucks and three snowplows are being used along with 150 TV cameras and 30 vehicles with pavement temperature sensors. Plows and sanders are being tracked using GPS.The winter storm warning affects most of Western Washington for snow showers that could leave accumulations of 2 to 6 inches. The blow will increase through the early afternoon and extend into the evening hours. Accumulations will vary widely about the area.KIRO 7 Eyewitness news meteorologist Sam Argier said areas about the Cascade foothills and central and south Puget Sound have the better chance for higher accumulations.Winds are also expected to clean up throughout the day.iSpot: Upload your Photos iSpot Weather PhotosArgier said the strongest wind will be union of Everett, where a wind advisory takes effect at noon through midnight Monday. Gusts of 40 to 50 mph are forecast around Whatcom County, Skagit County, the San Juan Islands and Whidbey Island. The gusts could answer in local power outages and north winds tonight will make some blowing and floating of the snow.The balance of the good will be breezy, with gusts 20 to 30 mph.The combining of the stale air and wind will bring wind chill temperatures in the single digits and teens, Argier said.after the snow tapers off, the state is forecast to come into a deep freeze for various days.on Tuesday, it will be dry with sunshine but will continue well below freezing throughout the day, with lows in the teens.another storm moves in Wednesday bringing the prospect of more snow to the lowlands.The National Weather Service said it`s rare for high temperatures to stay below freezing in western Capital in November. at Sea-Tac Airport there have been only 14 recorded days where the high has been 32 or less in November.By Thanksgiving, rain will come and temperatures should warm up into the 40s, but will remain below freezing in eastern Washington.The Shipping Department reports snow and ice Monday morning on Snoqualmie, Stevens and White passes.