Tagged: snow

Predicted snow fell across western Washington on Tuesday evening, largely sparing the evening commute. This morning people are waking up to rain, thick slush and closed or delayed schools.

A driver in Tukwila slid down a hill and onto the tracks of Sound Transit's Central Link light rail. The car landed on its roof. The driver received minor injuries, according to KING-TV.  Those tracks were closed for a time, with service resuming before midnight.

Updated 3:58 p.m., Mon., Jan. 10th

The latest weather foreceast shows much less snow may fall than had been predicted, and warmer temperatures will bring rain and wind on Wednesday.

The National Weather Service office in Seattle has eased off forecasts of larger amounts of snow for western Washington, as the latest models show warm air pushing in faster than expected. 

“We feel pretty confident the system will stay on the warmer side, and we will not see large amounts of snowfall” in the lowlands of western Washington, says Dennis D'Amico of the NWS Seattle office.

Idaho’s Tamarack Resort is once again alive with skiers and snowboarders. But the happy scene didn’t come easy.

Tamarack is one of the most glaring casualties in the region from the bursting of the real estate bubble. Homeowners at the bankrupt resort are bootstrapping the once heralded ski area back into business.

The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) is preparing for the next snowstorm in the Puget Sound Region with the addition of eight new "mini-sander" pickup trucks.  The trucks are being turned into sanders with the addition of hoppers and equipment mounted on the tailgates.

The lights are back on for thousands of Puget Sound Energy customers this evening. The largest outage area, Kitsap County, saw power restored to all but 13,000. PSE expects many of them to be back online before midnight Wednesday. 

Our icy roads continue to make for reduced Metro bus services. Snow routes will be observed again Wednesday, as the agency copes with tough driving conditions and the cold temperatures keeping the ice frozen solid.

Updated 5:30 am, Wed.

More than 39,000 Puget Sound Energy customers are still without power after Monday's snow and winds toppled main transmission lines. PSE reports  most were in Kitsap County. That's where main transmission lines were brought down by trees and strong winds.

Forecasters say freezing temperatures will be with us through Thanksgiving morning, with the coldest lows of this winterly blast expected tonight. 

For the region’s ski areas, this week’s snowfall may be too much of a good thing. More ski lifts are starting up soon, but lowland snow (in Portland, the Seattle area, etc.) could keep urban skiers at home. 

Temperatures plummeted quickly Monday evening, freezing wet roads already dusted with snow. It's added up to a nightmare commute for many trying to get home.

Nearly two years ago, heavy snow and ice from an unusual mid-December storm and cold snap left roads and sidewalks treacherous for a week or more. Road and transit agencies in Seattle say the hard lessons they learned during the big snowstorm of 2008 are showing up in their response to this snowfall.