© AP Photo/Elaine ThompsonU.S. Army Spc. Ron Washington checks his watch as he stands on the Alaskan Way Viaduct after walking from his Humvee to check on the gridlock on the highway Monday, Nov. 22, 2010, in Seattle. Drivers were stuck for hours throughout the Puget Sound region, as Washington state was hit by its first significant snowfall of the season, with several inches on the ground in Spokane and just enough snow in the Puget Sound area to make traffic a mess. More snow was forecast along with extreme cold in parts of Eastern Washington down to 19 below zero overnight in some spots near Spokane, with winds of up to 25 mph driving the wind chill even lower.
At least three deaths in Washington state have been blamed on the storm, including a man struck and killed outside his car Monday night on snowy Interstate 5 in Tacoma. Washington State Patrol Trooper Brandy Kessler said it wasn't clear whether the man was chaining up his car or pushing it when he was hit.
A man's body was found along the Willamette River waterfront in Portland, Ore., on Tuesday. Police were trying to determine whether the death was weather related.
Blowing snow, slick roads and temperatures in the mid-20s turned the Monday evening commute in the Puget Sound region into an hours-long crawl - for those who made it home. Some commuters gave up after being stuck for five hours or more and returned to their offices, or just left their cars at the side of the road.
