It appears the region will be able to emerge from the freeze and road crews will be able to clear main arterials of snow and ice later today as temperatures are expected to rise into the lower 40s after 10 a.m.

Road conditions are still hazardous in the morning, so be careful out there.

Here is the latest from the National Weather Service (the following forecast is for Burien and while the report for the rest of the region is similar, you can hit the link and enter your city for more specific information):

Today: Occasional snow and freezing drizzle before 10am, then rain. Snow level 200 feet rising to 3700 feet. High near 40. North northwest wind 5 to 11 mph becoming south southeast. Chance of precipitation is 100%. Little or no ice accumulation expected. Total daytime snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.

Tonight: Rain. Low around 40. South southeast wind between 14 and 17 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%.

Saturday: Showers likely, mainly before 10am. Cloudy, with a high near 45. Windy, with a southwest wind between 22 and 30 mph, with gusts as high as 41 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%.

Saturday Night: A 40 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 37. Southwest wind between 14 and 16 mph.

Sunday: Rain. High near 44. South southeast wind around 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%.

When the big melt occurs, the NWS is issuing a flood watch:

FLOOD WATCH
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SEATTLE WA
355 PM PST THU JAN 19 2012

.PERIODS OF HEAVY RAIN FRIDAY THROUGH SATURDAY ON TOP OF THE SNOW
BLANKETING ALL OF WESTERN WASHINGTON COULD RIVER FLOODING IN
SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON AND URBAN AND SMALL STREAM FLOODING
THROUGHOUT THE AREA.

CLALLAM-GRAYS HARBOR-ISLAND-JEFFERSON-KING-KITSAP-LEWIS-MASON-PIERCE-SAN JUAN-SKAGIT-SNOHOMISH-THURSTON-WHATCOM-355 PM PST THU JAN 19 2012

...FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT FROM FRIDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH SATURDAY
AFTERNOON...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN SEATTLE HAS ISSUED A

* FLOOD WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF WESTERN WASHINGTON...INCLUDING THE
FOLLOWING COUNTIES... GRAYS HARBOR...CLALLAM...ISLAND...
JEFFERSON...SAN JUAN...SKAGIT...WHATCOM...KING...KITSAP...
LEWIS...MASON...PIERCE...SNOHOMISH...THURSTON.

* FROM FRIDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH SATURDAY AFTERNOON.

* UP TO 3 INCHES OF RAIN OVER THE OLYMPICS AND 2 INCHES OVER THE
WILLAPA HILLS COULD FALL FRIDAY THROUGH SATURDAY AND COMBINE
WITH UP TO 1.5 INCHES OF WATER FROM LOWLAND SNOW MELT DURING THE STORM.

* SNOW LEVELS WILL BEGIN AROUND 5500 FEET FRIDAY AND REMAIN THERE
UNTIL LATE SATURDAY WHEN IT WILL FALL TO 2500 FEET.

* THE RAINFALL THAT IS FORECAST AND THE SNOW MELT THAT IS POSSIBLE
COULD DRIVE THE SKOKOMISH AND CHEHALIS RIVERS ABOVE FLOOD STAGE
BETWEEN FRIDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY EVENING. IF FLOODING DOES OCCUR...IT
WILL LIKELY BE MINOR.

* ALL AREAS COULD SEE EXCESSIVE SURFACE RUNOFF WITH PONDING OF
WATER...PONDING AROUND CLOGGED DRAINS OR CULVERTS...AND/OR SMALL
STREAMS GOING OVER THEIR BANKS. WORSE AREA FLOODING COULD OCCUR
IN SPOTS...PARTICULARLY IN THE AREAS OF DEEP LOWLAND SNOW AND
HEAVIER RAIN LIKE THE SOUTHWEST INTERIOR.

* UNCERTAINTY IS HIGH WITH THIS EVENT AND THE SNOW MELT IS A BIG
PART OF THAT UNCERTAINTY...IN ADDITION TO THE USUAL QUESTION OF
EXACTLY HOW MUCH AND HOW INTENSE THE RAIN WILL BE. WINDS ARE
LIGHT AND THE TEMPERATURES ONLY WARM TO THE MID FORTIES WHICH
WOULD NOT ARGUE FOR A FAST MELTING OF SNOW COMPARED TO A STRONG
WIND WITH TEMPERATURES IN THE UPPER 50S. HOWEVER...SNOW MELT CAN
ACT IN SUCH A WAY AS TO HOLD HE RAIN WATER AND THEN MELT AND
RELEASE THE WATER IN A RELATIVELY SHORT PERIOD OF TIME WHICH
WOULD GREATLY INCREASE THE RIVER RUNOFF. IT IS EXTREMELY
DIFFICULT TO SAY HOW THE SNOW WILL MELT. IN ADDITION...RIVER
MODELS DO NOT ALWAYS HANDLE THESE SITUATIONS VERY WELL SO
SPECIFIC RIVER FORECASTS MAY NOT FULLY INDICATE THE EXISTING
FLOOD RISK.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A FLOOD WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR FLOODING BUT
FLOODING IS NOT IMMINENT OR OCCURRING. MONITOR THE LATEST
FORECASTS FROM THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AND BE READY TO ACT
QUICKLY IF FLOODING IS OBSERVED OR A WARNING IS ISSUED.