Tagged: Winter storm

CENTRALIA, Wash. — The Washington Department of Transportation had closed both directions of Interstate 5 for about 8 miles north of Centralia because of power lines on the roadway.

The roadway has been cleared.

Gov. Chris Gregoire has declared a state of emergency for an ice storm that landed on top of heavy snow in western Washington, causing treacherous travel, power outages and threats that buildings could collapse. So far, the storm has left more than 200,000 people without power.

Seattle city officials are asking residents to get home before dark, if possible, because they fear even worse icing conditions by night fall.

Ice closed Sea-Tac Airport in the early morning before one runway was reopened. The State Patrol said it had responded to about 2,300 accidents in a 24-hour period ending at 9 a.m. Thursday, roughly quadruple the average number.

OLYMPIA, Wash. – In Olympia, snow and ice-laden tree branches are down on the capitol campus. On the west side of town, downed power lines made several roads impassable.

With snow still on the ground in Seattle, we thought it would be fun to share our snapshots of the scene. We'd love to see yours. You can post them and your thoughts in the comments section of this post.

Let us know if you've put up a YouTube video also (like the pretty darn cool one after the jump):

PORTLAND, Ore. — Amtrak says it's suspending service between Portland and Seattle because of bad weather.

The LA Times ran a story yesterday that accused Seattle of being "snow wimps."  So we decided to take a look at what else people on the Web are saying about Seattle folks in the snow, both from around the country and here in Seattle.

It’s a tough commute out there for anyone who has to drive. Snow is melting fast, and ice is a big danger.

But in Seattle at least, the consensus seems to be that the city has improved a lot in keeping main arterials clear, by deploying trucks that preemptively spray de-icer and sprinkle rock salt on the roads when it snows.

It’s not without environmental risks, but officials say they’re doing what they can to strike the balance between maintaining public safety and limiting the risks from polluted runoff.

KPLU staff share their observations of wandering through the snow storm in Seattle.

PARKLAND, Wash. — The weight of Wednesday's snow on the roof apparently caused cracks to appear in the ceiling of the building that houses the swimming pool at Pacific Lutheran University in Parkland.