Washington State Police (WSP) say that multiple drivers were trapped for hours in a bizarre tumbleweed pileup on Tuesday.
The incident — dubbed “Tumblegeddon” by WSP — happened on December 31 near Richmond, Washington, when wind gusts sent hundreds of tumbleweeds onto Highway 240.
WSP reported that the tumbleweeds were 20 to 30 feet high in some areas.
The tumbleweed pileup trapped several cars and a truck for several hours before Washington State Department of Transportation crews using snow plows were able to clear away the tumbleweeds.
SR240 at mile post 10 is closed in both directions. DOT is working on clearing. Several vehicles trapped in the tumble weeds. Use alternate routes.-S.C. pic.twitter.com/xD2GfUluim
— Trooper C. Thorson (@wspd3pio) January 1, 2020
Washington State Patrol Trooper Sarah Clasen told KOMO News “Everybody said, ‘Oh, it’s just a tumbleweed, drive through.’ But, literally, you had vehicles driving off the road because they couldn’t see the roadway. Even semi-trucks were on the wrong side of the road. It was a little bit of chaos and a lot of, well, we haven’t had this before, but I guess we’ll just figure it out.”
No one was injured.
Highway 240 was shut down in both directions for about 10 hours for cleanup.
#tumblegeddon After 10 hours of SR 240 being closed last night on New Year’s Eve, it was opened around 0430 thanks to @WSDOT_East We still have one abandon car trapped in the tumbleweeds that was found at daylight, luckily no one was in it. pic.twitter.com/df7XbnqafE
— Trooper C. Thorson (@wspd3pio) January 1, 2020