Better get the woolies out....you'll all need them. Here's an article of what I experienced last night....We ended up with about 6 inches or a little more.....the back yard only got about 4 inches because of all the TALL 100'f+ trees around us....
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER
seattlepi.nwsource.com
Snow strikes in time to ice up Wednesday rush hour
Congestion, accidents snarl traffic in nearly all directions
Thursday, January 11, 2007
By SCOTT GUTIERREZ AND BRAD WONG
P-I REPORTERS
From Wednesday evening's rush-hour crawl home, to today's icy commute back into the city, driving again turned into a white-knuckle adventure in parts of the Seattle area as snow finally arrived after being forecast all week.
The region's highways were snarled with accidents during the evening rush-hour commute, which started just shortly after the skies released a much-anticipated load of snow as many people left work early to try to beat the weather.
"We're getting slammed," said Washington State Patrol Trooper Jeff Merrill just before 5 p.m. Wednesday. "It came down really hard, really fast. Traffic seems to be flowing, but it's really slow."
When northern parts of the Puget Sound region were hit first Wednesday afternoon, state transportation authorities encouraged motorists to head home if possible.
"We want drivers to consider it if they're not used to driving in the snow," said Meghan Soptich, a state Department of Transportation spokeswoman.
It is difficult to clear snow on the roads with plows during the evening rush hour, she said.
Interstate 90 started to slow about 5 p.m. because of accidents and vehicles stuck on the ice between Mercer Island and Eastgate. The congestion grew serious enough that emergency vehicles had difficulty reaching a freeway motorcycle accident on Mercer Island, Merrill said.
"We had a slew of accidents and people abandoning vehicles, which created a whole plethora of problems for us. We received some reports of passengers disembarking from buses on express lanes on Mercer Island," he said.
Traffic was backed up eastbound over the Interstate 90 bridge all the way to Safeco Field, and it took commuters about two hours just to get to Mercer Island from Seattle. A walker on the bike lanes across the bridge was passing scores of cars in the express lanes. Mercer Island resembled a parking lot for hours into Wednesday evening as about 2 inches of snow began to freeze.
Carl Cerniglia, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Seattle, said areas north of the city saw snow showers -- and not continuous snow -- until about 8 p.m. Two inches was about the maximum accumulation in the city, with as much as 4 to 6 inches falling in higher elevations.
"The most prone places for receiving heavier snowfall amounts will be near the foothills of Snohomish and King counties from Monroe south to North Bend," one weather advisory said.
The snow blanketed South King County later Wednesday night with a wet layer of white. On state Route 18, spinouts and a disabled tractor-trailer reduced traffic to one lane in both directions near Peasley Canyon, according to the Department of Transportation Web site.
Several community colleges, including North Seattle, South Seattle, Seattle Central, Highline and Bellevue, canceled evening classes because of the weather, according to their Web sites. A parent meeting at John Marshall High School was canceled.
With icy conditions expected today, the region faces a possible replay of problems with bus service. Metro and Sound Transit bus employees who left their bases before 4 p.m. for the afternoon commute didn't have chains; those leaving after 4 did, said Linda Thielke, a spokeswoman for King County, which operates buses for both agencies.
Some crews had installed chains on buses for the morning commute and then removed them three hours later when the snow didn't materialize Wednesday morning.
"You wouldn't chain your car if there wasn't any snow on the road," Thielke said. "You wait till you encounter the snow and the ice."
Bus riders should check this morning for bus-service changes, assuming snow or freezing conditions continue. Service "all depends on conditions in the area you'll be traveling tomorrow," Thielke said Wednesday.
Wednesday afternoon by 4:30, at least three routes were altered or shortened because of the snow in North King County. The Duvall and Woodinville areas were hardest hit.
"Every few minutes things are changing because this squall we are watching coming over Elliott Bay is just moving real quick," Thielke said.
Seattle traffic was clogged on Mercer Street near the Seattle Center at 5:30 p.m. and remained stop-and-go on Aurora Avenue North, where a sea of brake lights met frustrated motorists.
Marc Hayward watched about 2 inches of snow fall on his 2004 Mazda RX-8 during his shift Wednesday at Olson Lumber Co., located at 9300 Aurora Ave. N. Hayward admitted he'd been a bit apprehensive about commuting to his Gig Harbor home after ending work about 6 p.m.
"But now it's gravy," he said, looking at light Aurora traffic that cleared near Woodland Park. "I'm not sure what the rest of it is like, but I have a feeling that it's not too bad."
Hayward, 29, said some roads near his home had about 2 inches of snow when he began his commute to Seattle about 4:30 a.m. Wednesday.
"I was a little worried about the ice, because it's inevitable -- somebody's going to crash," he said. "But if you hit the roads early, the commute isn't as bad because there are less bad drivers."
With the heavy snow, some transformers were reported to be blowing out around the area. In the Central Area of Seattle, about 1,000 City Light customers lost power Wednesday night.
The weather caused headaches for ferry passengers to Vashon Island, where slick uphill roads at the terminal forced crews to suspend service for vehicles because they couldn't safely off-load them for nearly two hours.
Officials continued taking walk-on passengers as they awaited help from a King County sand truck, Washington State Ferries spokeswoman Susan Harris-Huether said.
Snow fell over nearly the entire northwest Washington interior most of Wednesday, with totals in the Whatcom County and San Juan Islands areas in the 3-6 inch range. Ferndale reported 9 inches.
Snowfall continued Wednesday night in South Seattle, Federal Way and the east Puget Sound lowlands but the snow showers were breaking up and becoming lighter, he said.
In Seattle, police officers accompanied by Operation Night Watch volunteers were teaming up Wednesday evening to contact homeless people and offer them transportation to the city's four cold weather shelters, the mayor's office said.
South of Tacoma, snowfall amounts were generally less than 2 inches but the state Department of Transportation reported black ice and numerous collisions on Interstate 5 in both directions Wednesday night in the Chehalis and Toledo areas.
The storm was the fourth in a slightly more than a month and a half.
The worst, a windstorm that hit the region Dec. 14, cut power to about 1.5 million people and has been blamed for 14 deaths, half from carbon monoxide poisoning as residents turned to generators, charcoal grills and propane heaters for warmth.
HELPING OUT
Shelters for homeless: Seattle police and volunteers patrolled the city Wednesday night looking for homeless people who may need help because of the cold and snow.
Seattle Center's Rainier Room (coed): Just north of KeyArena. Opens at 8:30 p.m.
City Hall shelter (coed): On Fourth Avenue, between James and Cherry streets. Opens at 9 p.m.
The Frye Hotel (women only): Third Avenue and Yesler Way. Opens at 8 p.m.
The Compass Center (coed): South Washington Street and Alaskan Way South.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
P-I reporters Amy Rolph, John Marshall, Casey McNerthney and The Associated Press contributed to this report. P-I reporter Brad Wong can be reached at 206-448-8137 or bradwong@seattlepi.com.
.. |
