The National Weather Service has issued "ice storm warning" covering much of the Puget Sound area, including the Seattle metro area, through the morning hours.

The warning said a warm front is spreading rain over a layer of cold air, producing freezing rain.

The hazard is expected to continue well past the morning commute, but ease in the late morning as temperatures rise.

The rain is falling hard in Seattle, creating hard and slick ice on streets, highways and sidewalks and providing plenty of hazards to those who headed out in the early hours.

Even walking can cause pedestrian to slip and fall.

At 5 a.m., a tree had blocked all lanes of Highway 18 at the Tiger Mountain summit for a time.

In Snohomish County, three northbound lanes of I-5 were closed at I-405 by what was reported as a jackknifed semi truck.

Ice has closed all three runways at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.