Traffic alert: Overnight freezing rain left slick roads

FERNDALE, Wash. — Ferndale Public Works Supervisor Bo Westford was out about 2am assessing the roads and wondered if he needed to call out snow plows and sanding crews for what looked like a light dusting of new snow. He said freezing rain followed that dusting of snow and has created treacherous driving conditions.

“We are out plowing, trying to remove that new ice off the roads to get back down to where the sand and salt we put out earlier is,” Westford said. “Roads that were mostly clear are now deceptively slick,” according to Westford, noting crews will be sanding where needed and that some areas are much worse than others.

According to unconfirmed emergency radio dispatches, there have been multiple single-vehicle crashes resulting in vehicles in ditches reported in western Whatcom County this morning.

Frigid Fraser Valley outflow winds continue to keep much of western Whatcom County, including the Ferndale area, below freezing as of 5:30am today, Saturday, January 18th. Areas close to the water and to the south are at or above 32°F. National Weather Service forecasters are holding out hope the freezing rain will transition to rain later this morning and expect high temperatures around 40°F in the Ferndale area.