[treeswarper]

Yup, it is falling here in the OkanOgan Valley. Winter is here, I guess.

[Chief Joseph]

It's here all right. Just back from driving about 35 miles to Priest River to pick up a couch in a 2wd pickup. My 4wd Suburban Trans died on the way here last week. Mostly bare and wet on the way down, but treacherous on the way back, then backed up to unload, now stuck in the yard. I heard that there was an accident on the highway which apparently I just missed. And so it begins...

[Randito]

Chains Required EB I-90, WB closed due to multiple spin outs.

[thunderhead]

Woohoo! Sacrifice lowlanders to the snow demons!! Snow snow wnow!!!

[dixon]

[BigBrunyon]

It's time to CHAIN UP.

[Chief Joseph]

The way this winter has begun for me I might just hibernate...the cats and I.

[Bowregard]

It has been a long time since I travelled the passes on a regular basis. 4X4 and AWD used to be excluded from "Chains Required" except for very dangerous conditions which was rare. Which to me meant carrying chains "just in case" with 4X4/AWL but not really expecting to use them. But I have been following one of the car forums recently and noticed a high number of drivers choosing to put very large A/T tires on their 4X4/AWD vehicles that leave no room for chains. Have the requirements changed over the years to a point where chains are never (or almost never) required on 4X4/AWD vehicles equipped with snow tires?

[treeswarper]

[Randito]

My observations of I-90 over the decades is that when heavy snow arrives quickly and the WSDOT puts up chains required on the electronic reader boards that a number of drivers try to speed through without chaining up in vehicles w/o AWD or even M+S rated tires. Eastbound they often do OK until the last 1/2 mile , where the road curves to the right, the grade steepens and the amount of snow increased exponentially. Not unusual to see various problems right there. The worst case are semis that try and end up sideways blocking all four lanes just before Exit 52, which I've seen several times. West bound has similar problems on the climb up from Easton and on the grade that starts at Hyak. I've observed this pattern over the years, so I don't think it is unique to any alleged labor shortage. But you can bet if the a Sinclair broadcasting media reporter interviews a WSDOT spokesperson that's the angle that they will pursue.

[treeswarper]

Meanwhile, I broke out my Barbie snow gauge system. This is what we got, but it had melted a teensy bit (more scientifology speak). There was not enough snow for standing Barbie.

[kiliki]

I think it's the reckless driving on I-90 that's gotten worse over the years, which makes sense with the population growth we've had. I drove back to Seattle from Kettle Falls a couple weeks ago in absolute pouring rain with lots of standing water. All was fine until between Cle Elum and North Bend, where people--mostly guys in pickups, guys in sports cars, and some semis--drove like bats out of h*ll. I passed 3 accidents--one between 2 sporty cars and an Amazon truck, blocking 3 lanes near Hyak; another right as you start to head down after the pass; and an overturned car in the ditch past Ashael Curtis. And no one cared. People were doing 80 past all this in terrible conditions. Speed limit on the e-board was 60/50. You'd think seeing so many accidents and an overturned car might make people drive somewhat around the speed limit but no. And it seems like it's always like that. Especially westbound between Cle Elum and NB for some reason.

[treeswarper]

Back in the 1980s, I was heading west on I-90 until the Yakima turn off. It looked slick between Vantage and E-burg so I slowed down. It was the Sunday after the Apple Cup game, which had been held in Pullman. Wasn't far until I started going by many of the vehicles that had flown by me. They were in the ditch, some were upside down, I don't think anybody was injured but the tow trucks made a bundle. I made it home unscathed, but it took me quite a bit longer as the roads from then on were not nice and I had to chain up in....Naches. Was able to take them off higher on up the pass because the pass crew had better equipment to handle the snow. That happens on White Pass, slick road until you reach the crew change area. Our snow is melted.