The aftermath of ice storm 2017 still causing major highway problems.

The bruising aftermath of ice storm 2017 was still causing major highway problems on Thursday, two days after the storm first hit.

The Washington Department of Transportation was undertaking a major cleanup and plowing effort on Snoqualmie Pass, which was reopened at 6 p.m. Tuesday in both directions of the state’s main route across the Cascade Mountains, according to the DOT.

The lengthy closure came because so much ice covered the state’s main east-west link that it was too dangerous on Wednesday even for crews to clear slides and downed trees, much less to allow traffic onto the Interstate 90 pass.

Cleanup began Wednesday morning on the slides and 20 to 30 trees brought down by the ice.

Tree fallers were going to join the effort.

“We will also need to take down about 20 to 30 trees in the westbound lanes that have heavy ice build-up,” said Mike Allende, DOT social media manager, in a blog post on the DOT website.

To the north, U.S. Highway 2 through Tumwater Canyon was closed west of Leavenworth due to multiple snow slides on Thursday.

In the Spokane area, Hatch Road from 57th Avenue to U.S. 195 was closed due to icy conditions.

Accidents

Three semi-trucks crashed and blocked the westbound lanes of Interstate 90 at milepost 34, about 25 miles east of Coeur d’Alene, early Thursday.

The westbound lanes were closed for eight hours after the 5:40 a.m. accident.

“We are working as quickly as we can to clear the road, but the road will be closed for a significant amount of time,” Idaho State Police said in a news release.

The collision occurred as the three semi-trucks encountered an unrelated accident in which another semi-truck jackknifed on the ice-coated freeway.

The first rig was slowing down, but was hit by the second rig and both were hit by the third rig. One of the trucks was pushed into the median, police said.

In the Spokane area, the county sheriff’s office reported exceptionally slick roads in the northeast part of the county, including Day-Mount Spokane and Colbert roads. Several vehicles were stuck along Colbert Road and needed help to get moving again, deputies said.

In Spokane, a rollover collision blocked the right lane of westbound I-90 at the Maple Street onramp on Thursday morning.

Earlier Thursday morning, state Highway 231 south of Springdale was closed due to a jackknifed semi-truck.

Also, multiple slide-off crashes were reported on U.S. 395 north of Spokane.

The Spokane area saw up to a quarter-inch of ice from the storm.

Forecast

While the region got a break from the onslaught of winter on Thursday, forecasters said that more is on the way on Sunday following a bit of a break on Friday and Saturday.

Jeff Cote, forecaster for the National Weather Service in Spokane, said that icy roads, sidewalks and parking lots will continue to be a threat.

While daytime temperatures are expected to warm into the mid-30s Friday through Sunday, nighttime temperatures should be in the mid-20s.

That will allow a freeze-thaw cycle to send melt water over paved surfaces, which will then refreeze overnight.

Saturday has a 30-percent chance of snow, but Sunday is a better bet for a combination of snow and rain through the evening.

Drier and colder weather are expected on Monday through Thursday.

Thursday’s thawing temperatures continued to turn streets into huge puddles in many locations.

Spokane city officials were asking residents to clear ice from storm drains, while a flood advisory for the region was expected to be lifted early Friday.