Sunday was a tough day for motorists on parts of Interstate 5 in Washington State.
In one incident, a tractor-tailer was stopped in its tracks when it was hit by a huge mudslide near Bellingham.
In another, 45 vehicles were involved in a chain-reaction pileup in the southbound lanes of I-5 in Kent, about 20 miles south of Seattle.
No major injuries were reported in either incident, but the interstate was closed for hours in both areas.
The Washington Department of Transportation said the mudslide occurred at about 5 a.m. Sunday in the northbound lanes of I-5 north of Iowa Street in Bellingham. WDOT said heavy rains washed some 2,000 cubic yards of mud and debris across the interstate.
About 2 feet of mud trapped a tractor-tailer and a passenger vehicle.
I-5 reopened at about 3 p.m. Sunday.
At about 2 p.m. Sunday, a collision occurred, which wound up involving 45 vehicles.
The section of I-5 was closed until about 4:30 according to the Washington State Highway Patrol.
Police are investigating the cause massive pileup. The highway was wet from previous rainfall, but authorities are not blaming it for the cause of the huige wreck.
