Washington state motorists trapped by tumbleweed storm

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A tumbleweed or two might bring a sense of nostalgia for the Wild West, but thick drifts of them along a Washington state highway became a hazard on New Year’s Eve. Piles rising up to 30 feet of the seed-dropping plant trapped vehicles, including a tractor-trailer, along State Route 240.

What did stranded motorists do? Calls to 911 began around 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, but rescuers couldn’t reach some people until midnight. To pass the time, some took to social media using the hashtag #tumblegeddon. Authorities closed the road for 10 hours as workers used snowplows to clear the brush.

Dig deeper: Read about a tumbleweed pileup in 1989 that buried entire houses in South Dakota.

Samantha Gobba

Samantha is a freelancer for WORLD Digital. She is a graduate of the World Journalism Institute, holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Hillsdale College, and has a multiple-subject teaching credential from California State University. Samantha resides in Chico, Calif., with her husband and their two sons.