Published 19:45 IST, January 2nd 2020
US: Several cars trapped by piles of tumbleweed up to 30 ft high
A US highway in Washington had to be closed in both directions on New Year's Eve as balls of dry plant up to 20-30ft blew on the road and trapped several cars.
- World News
- 3 min read
A United States highway in Washington had to be closed in both directions on New Year's Eve as balls of dry plant blew on the road and trapped several cars. According to international media reports, piles of tumbleweed up to 20-30 feet high blocked the highway and trapped five cars and one truck. Trooper Chris Thorson of Washington state patrol reportedly dubbed the incident as 'tumblegeddon'.
While speaking to an international media outlet, Thorson said that the plants were so thick that they had to use snow plough trucks to clear the scene. He further said that it was 10 hours before the authorities were able to reopen State Route 240 near West Richland around 4:30am on New Year's Day. He also said that people were stuck at midnight and rung in new year trapped under the weeds, further adding that after the sun had risen, one car was found abandoned with no one in it.
According to reports, no one was injured in the incident and there were no collisions. The National Weather Station further reported wind gusts of 30-40mph throughout most of the night on Highway 240 northwest of Richland. The Washington state department of transportation in a tweet also thanked the crew who helped clear out the tumbleweed on New years Eve.
Tumbleweeds piled 20-30 feet high
Thorson also informed that several vehicles and one semi-truck slowed down because of low visibility and eventually came to a stop as they got covered in Tumbleweeds and then rendering them unable to proceed. Thorson in a tweet also shared the state patrol trooper working to clear the tumbleweeds. According to reports, tumbleweeds are a common occurrence on the stretch of road, however, Thorson said he had never seen anything like the amount in his 20 years working as a state trooper. Tumbleweeds are dry plants which have detached from their root or stem and form a ball-like structure of dead plants and roll due to the force of the wind.
Updated 19:45 IST, January 2nd 2020