Winter Weather — Central Chelan County, Washington

2024-12-07 · Central Chelan County, Washington

Event narrative

At 1545 PST, a vehicle containing 9 people crashed at the SR-395 interchange along I-90 near Ritzville. One fatality and 9 injuries were reported. Light freezing rain was occuring at the time with Washington DOT sensor TRITZ reporting trace amounts. It is believed to be have been a contributing factor.

Wider weather episode

Prolonged stratus under an upper level ridge pattern brought periods of freezing fog and light freezing drizzle across the region. Locations across the region reported amounts of trace to 0.1 of ice accumulation. It caused hazardous travel conditions leading to vehicle accidents across the region. Two fatal wrecks were attributed to the icy conditions.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1229419. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.