An early spring storm on Saturday drenched Washington on both

sides of the Cascades and brought snow to the mountains, turning

Snoqualmie Pass into an icy mess where at least 30 accidents were

reported, one of them fatal.

A man who left his vehicle to wait for a tow truck was struck

and killed when a semi-truck spun out of control, the

Washington State Patrol said. Troopers identified the man as Ernest

A. Byng, 31, of Connell.

Interstate 90 was closed for much of Saturday afternoon. Most of

the accidents caused only minor injuries, troopers said.

"People do not have their snow tires anymore, and they are not

carrying chains," said Mike Westbay of the state Department of

Transportation. "They ran into 12 inches of snow and they were

stuck."

Record-breaking rains fell in Seattle, which got 1.38 inches

between midnight and 10 p.m. Saturday, and 0.57 inches from

midnight to 10 a.m. Sunday at the National Weather Service's Sand

Point headquarters.

The old record for March 26 was 0.92 inch set in 1988, and 0.31

inch for March 27 in 1992.

Nearly 3 inches fell between 2 a.m. Saturday and 7 a.m. Sunday

in the Thurston County town of Grand Mound, the weather service

said.