COEUR d'ALENE - Procrastinators, the lot of you.

As soon as the snow flies, tire shops get busy. Winter tread season opened Oct. 1, but it takes the first flakes to remind people.

"This is my 18th snow rush," said Tom Dunn, Tire Rama manager, taking a quick break between studding up cars. "And this is the exact same as 17 before it."

That's to say as soon as it snows, people rush to get traction - and not a moment before.

The shop expected to switch 100 cars Friday, or 400 tires, par for the course once the season blasts in.

Same at Best Tire and Auto, where waits crept into the five hour category.

"We just tell the guys to get up and come to work because they're going to be 16, 17 hour days," said Shay Cremer, co-owner, whose shop was going to switch out another 100 cars Friday. "The last 15 years, I haven't seen anything else, this is normal."

Thursday to Friday brought around 5 inches. A few more inches are expected the rest of the weekend, with temperatures dropping into the teens at night.

Coeur d'Alene police and the Kootenai County Sheriff's Office had responded to 10 accidents by 1 p.m.

By 4 p.m. at least two semi trucks slid off Interstate 90 because of the weather near Fourth of July Pass, completely blocking eastbound traffic and backing cars up to Sherman Avenue, according to the Idaho State Police.

Traffic was then diverted off the interstate at Sherman Avenue.

Dunn said that winter tires make a big difference for driver safety. In the last six years, the designs and makeup of the tires has improved so much, it makes them better than all season tires.

"It's a night and day difference," he said.

At Les Schwab on Government Way, Liz Arebalo was three hours into her wait to get her winterized wheels.

She wouldn't dream of driving her Mustang without them, and realized she probably waited until the last second to make the switch. She just moved here though, so it's her first full winter in Coeur d'Alene.

"I'll feel much safer," she said. "I have to take a running start to get into my driveway and then I kind of slide in. People laugh at me."

Les Schwab expected to service 225 cars Friday.

Stud season in Idaho runs Oct. 1 to May 1.

One worker there, not wanting to give his name while running between cars jobs, said it always turns hectic in the store "as soon as the snow hits the ground," even though the season starts in October.

"Procrastination is what they call it," he said.