Winter Weather — Washington Palouse, Washington

2014-02-21 · Washington Palouse, Washington

Event narrative

Two passengers were killed and two others were injured when a car lost control on icy roads and ran head on into a semi-truck. One passenger was ejected from the car.

Wider weather episode

Conditions on the 20th of February were generally mild for February standards with periods of light rain. By the evening and overnight hours, skies cleared and temperatures cooled just near the freezing mark. In addition, Arctic air mass intrusions during the last two months had led to a deep hard freeze of the subsurface. These conditions were thought to be responsible for patches of ice along sections of US 195 across the Washington Palouse during the early morning hours of February 21st. A car carrying four passengers lost control near mile post 36 crossing into the southbound lane and running head on into a semi-truck. Two passengers were killed in the accident and two other were injured.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 499057. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.