Schools, city halls and businesses closed yesterday in many parts of Washington because of a winter storm, and more bad weather is in the forecast. The National Weather Service says a heavy snow warning is in effect through 4 a.m. tomorrow for the Olympic Mountains, North Cascades and the west slopes of the Central Cascades and mountain passes. The Weather Service says up to 3 feet of snow is likely in the passes in the 24-hour period beginning early today. A hazardous weather outlook was issued for Eastern Washington and the Idaho Panhandle, with snow expected for most of the rest of the week. For Seattle and the Western Washington lowlands, 1 to 3 inches of new snow were possible through this morning. A storm that dumped more than a foot of heavy, wet snow during the weekend eased yesterday across Eastern Washington, leaving icy roads, downed power lines and closed schools and businesses. A pedestrian was struck and killed by a snowplow. Snow tapered off in Western Washington after up to an inch was reported in the suburbs east of Seattle and 2 to 3 inches in the suburbs east of Tacoma. Road crews applied sand and deicing chemicals on principal roads, but that was not enough to prevent a rash of fender-benders and weather-related traffic snarls in Puget Sound.
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