A sudden snowstorm Wednesday afternoon left southeastern Jefferson County blanketed and launched county and state snowplows for the first time since December.
The snow moved into the Port Angeles-Sequim area on Wednesday night.
With between 1 and 4 inches of newly fallen snow from Port Hadlock to Port Ludlow to Quilcene and Brinnon making for slick conditions, several reports of vehicles sliding off highways and roads were called into law enforcement dispatchers.
While Port Ludlow and Paradise Bay appeared to be most heavily hit, main arterials, such as Oak Bay Road, state Highway 19 and state Highway 20 were generally plowed by late afternoon Wednesday, county officials reported.
The snow, for the most part, was wet.
Therefore, state Department of Transportation road trucks held off on plowing the slush-covered highways and instead laid down healthy doses of sand, salt and liquid deicer, said Jamie Swift, spokesman for Department of Transportation.
He said crews would work through the night.
Plow trucks from Jefferson County Public Works were out on county roads as well, also attempting to lessen slick conditions as much as possible.
Monte Reinders, Public Works engineer, said four trucks were working for much of the afternoon in the Port Hadlock area, while two trucks kept roads in the Quilcene area clear.
He said crew members would work late Wednesday night.
Despite the efforts of state and county road crews, some vehicles found it difficult to stay on the road.
Of a total of eight vehicle crashes on state highways Wednesday, four occurred on state Highway 19, said State Patrol spokesman Trooper Brian George.
He said seven of the wrecks involved only damage to vehicles, and one involved minor injuries.
Other vehicles slid off the road with no damage.
Cars off the road were still being reported into the evening Wednesday.
Johnny Burg, Seattle-based meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said the temperature was suppose to warm today, so further snow should not be an issue.
But he added that moisture on the ground likely would freeze throughout Wednesday night, so morning commuters should drive with extreme caution.
