Collisions begin to pile up as wet weather arrives in Puget Sound region

With wet weather moving into the Puget Sound region Friday, vehicle collisions are already beginning to pile up.

Seattle area set for first fall storm this weekend

At one point in Snohomish County this morning, there were four active collisions along I-5, including one incident in Lynnwood where a vehicle rear-ended a Washington State Department of Transportation incident response truck that was already in the process of responding to another crash.

An early-morning incident on I-5 near 164th Street Southwest also blocked the center lanes for hours, leading to a 3-mile backup. Travel times across the region only began to settle down close to 11 a.m., with more rain in the forecast for the next 24 hours.

Rough start to the morning. The rain is expected to be here all weekend so let's take care of each other on the roads and stay alert.

Travel times are settling down⬇️

Everett➡️Seattle 38/32
Federal Way➡️Seattle 36/24
Federal Way➡️Bellevue 31/24

More 🚘⌚️https://t.co/227UikEfHU pic.twitter.com/GSdyphdTj1

— WSDOT Traffic (@wsdot_traffic) September 17, 2021

“OK everyone, let’s slow down, leave space and pay attention,” Washington State Patrol Trooper Rocky Oliphant cautioned on Twitter.

From Friday morning through Saturday evening, Everett, Seattle, Kent, and Tacoma are all likely to receive between 1.5 and 2 inches of rain. The NWS estimates that Olympia will see 2-3 inches as well.

That serves as a good reminder to keep your headlights on, and to give the driver in front of you plenty of following room.

“Five to 10 miles an hour difference can make a huge difference when we are trying to stop our car,” Trooper Chase Van Cleave told KIRO Radio traffic reporter Chris Sullivan.

For more information on best practices while driving in the rain, head to this link.

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