Drivers should dust off their how-to book for wet, fall-weather driving. The Friday commute may see the first significant rainfall in the Puget Sound region in more than 80 days.

“We know the first big rain can bring slick driving conditions,” said Dave McCormick, Washington State Department of Transportation maintenance and operations manager. “This year may be more challenging because it has been so long since we’ve had any measurable rain.”

The heaviest rain is forecast for the weekend, but drivers could see wet roads sometime Friday.

Drivers can do their part to keep traffic moving by following these basic tips for driving in wet weather: leave plenty of following distance between vehicles; focus on driving and not on the cell phone; and check conditions and traffic before leaving. Drivers may also want to add 15 minutes or more to their commute.

Drivers who get into a collision should: move to the right to get out of traffic; stay in the vehicle until help arrives; and never stand or walk into traffic for any reason.

WSDOT crews are planning for the wet commute as well. Incident responders will be out in full force clearing roads and helping drivers along the key commute corridors, including Interstate 5, Interstate 405, State Route 520, Interstate 90, State Route 99 and State Route 16 throughout Seattle, Bellevue, Everett and Tacoma.

To help drivers stay on top of changing traffic conditions, passengers can watch for WSDOT’s two popular traffic Twitter feeds which focus on Tacoma traffic andSeattle/Bellevue/Everett traffic.