Seattle Snow Watch

Snow watch is easily one the most ridiculous aspects of living in western Washington. For a week the weather reports have been warning of impending accumulations of an inch or less in the lowlands and possible two or three inches in the foot hills. The mountains are due for a foot or more this weekend, but it’s January! Anyone traveling in the mountains should expect snow this time of year. Serious snow fall in the Cascades, during winter, is not news. A foot of snow at Snoqualmie Pass, in July, that’s news.

It amazes me how little snow it takes to disrupt life in the greater Seattle area. A few flakes in the air, not sticking, can bring traffic to a stand-still. Enough snow to make the road surface white will cause people to abandon their cars where they sit, the middle lane of the freeway, and walk to the nearest Starbucks for sanctuary. I’m not kidding. A few winters back Michelle and I were driving back from Bellevue in a moderate snow storm and the hardest part was dodging the parked cars on 405.

I was raised by a no-snow-days father. We didn’t stay home or change our plans because of a few snow flakes. More than once we drove through blinding flurries to be on time and the only ones there for church on Sunday morning. Work and church was one thing, but if we had plans for a little weekend recreation, a little snow, big snow, or blinding whiteout were not keeping us from having fun.

I’ve carried the tradition forward. I don’t let a little snow keep me from who and what I need to do. Many years ago when I was a weekend ski instructor, I drove all the way from Marysville to Stevens Pass on compact snow and ice, all seventy six miles one way. It never occurred to me to stay home. I did miss a few days of work due to snow in my youth. Once, upon returning to work the day after a major dump in the mountains, I started to tell my boss about my illness. He cut me off, “I know. It was that dreaded ski fever again.” That was the last time I missed a day of work due to snow.

Back to current events: I just checked a local news site. Here are the current headlines:

“The snow begins to fall in Redmond”

“Snow sticks to the ground in Shoreline”

“Snow sticks to the streets in Shoreline”

And my favorite so far this year:

“Snow sticks to the ground in a backyard in Shoreline”

You know it’s a blizzard here in western Washington when snow sticks to the ground in a backyard. I hope everyone has their provisions laid in. This could be it. This could be the big one.

Or not.