Temperatures early Friday morning were in the upper 20s and low 30s -- although some of the further South Sound areas dropped into the mid 20s.

The worst spots were anywhere where it rained or snowed, even a little, Thursday night. Downtown Seattle itself has been the exception, where temperatures stayed just above freezing and roads were better. But it was looking like they might be the lone exception.

We found icy spots scattered all across the area. The iciest spots appeared to be the higher neighborhoods of the Eastside, like Somerset, and southern Snohomish County/north King County -- we found plenty of icy spots around Wallingford and North Seattle.

That led to several reports scattered across the area of cars sliding into ditches and sidewalks, and minor fender benders.

"I slid around a few corners coming out of my neighborhood and actually right over there by Starbucks I started sliding out," said Andrew Gilmon of Renton.

Some said they even awoke to find their car doors frozen shut.

"It rained last night so the rain got caught in the grooves here and froze so it was hard getting in," said Bellevue's Richard Atkinson.

Closer to the city, it was more of the same. Drivers on 90th and Wallingford had to put muscle behind their cars just to climb a hill.

And the coast was far from clear once people reached the freeways, where the slippery slopes skidded traffic to a standstill. The DOT cameras caught a bus jackknifed on I-5 near 85th, and accident after accident left abandon cars on the road -- and lines of traffic to follow.

DOT-calculated travel times just before 7 a.m. were 85 minutes between Everett and Seattle and 75 minutes between Lynnwood and Seattle via I-5, where they were dealing with both ice and dense fog. Adding to the problem was that the I-5 Express Lanes' opening was delayed so crews could sand the roadway due to widespread ice.

But it was just as tough coming from the south, with travel times near 70 minutes between Federal Way to Bellevue via I-5 and I-405 around that same time.

Luckily, most schools were not in session due to mid-winter break, so school delays were limited to just a handful. But those of us who had to get to work faced a greater challenge.

It was the perfect scenario for an icy start. We had areas of rain (and snow) late Thursday night as a few random showers around combined with a Convergence Zone that lingered around the Central and South Sound to make the roads nice and wet.

However, once the Zone fizzled, the skies cleared, allowing temperatures to drop well below freezing in many areas. That, in turn, caused those wet roads to freeze solid and make for the tricky commute.

Temperatures are expected to warm into the mid 40s under mostly sunny skies by midday, but another chilly night expected Friday night so might be a little ice Saturday morning as well.