Spring snowstorm shuts down I-90 Snoqualmie Pass for hours

SNOQUALMIE PASS, Wash. -- A heavy spring snowstorm and vehicle spin-outs forced the closure Thursday night of Interstate 90 at Snoqualmie Pass -- the major east-west route over the Cascades.

I-90 was closed eastbound at milepost 34 near North Bend and westbound at Ellensburg milepost 106 at around 8:30 p.m.  The roadway reopened at around 11:30 p.m. Thursday, but it was slow-going over the passes, the Washington State Department of Transportation said.

In addition, hail fell Thursday in the lowlands east and west of Seattle -- and a tornado tore the roof off a barn in southwestern Washington.  For more on the tornado, click here.