Temperatures below 30 degrees turned some area roadways into an impromptu skating rink, but most county drivers were able to navigate them without incident.

One driver, however, was not as fortunate. Oak Harbor resident Jason Patnaud found himself upside down in a ditch after his pickup rolled over on Fakkema Road, near SR 20.

“I came around the corner and it was slick,” he said. “I hit something slick and it put me right in the ditch.”

Patnaud was uninjured and no other vehicles were involved.

Island County Sheriff Spokeswoman Jan Smith said that most drivers in Island County are wary of weather conditions. As of 10 a.m. Tuesday, this was the only weather-related accident the Sheriff’s Office had responded to that morning, she said.

Deputy Lane Campbell, who responded to the accident, said that people need to be extra cautious about the roads when they are icy — especially side roads.

“This was just a flat out speed-too-fast-for-conditions,” he said, describing the cause of the accident. “The reality is that when there’s ice out, you just gotta slow down.”

It took until 9 a.m. for the temperature to climb above freezing. At approximately 8 a.m., some thermometers showed a frigid 29 degrees.

You can reach News-Times reporter Eric Berto at eberto@whidbeynewstimes.com