Bundle up, because the cold weather isn’t going away and snow could be coming.
Rain expected this morning could turn to snow this afternoon and evening, further chilling Snohomish County residents who have endured a cold spell that descended on the region Sunday.
The cold weather sent homeless people looking for shelter and road maintenance workers out to spray de-icer on slippery spots.
“We’ve been full,” said Phil Wineinger, a reverend at the Everett Gospel Mission.
Michael O’Leary / The Herald
He said the Everett shelter has beds for 88, but the facility turns no one away when temperatures drop below freezing. By putting down mats in the common areas and hallways, he said the shelter has been able to pack in more than 180 homeless people each night.
Today’s forecast is for up to an inch of snow, with more possible Friday and Saturday. Highs are expected to be in the upper 30s the next three days, and lows in the upper 20s.
If snow comes, it will be part of a series of storms that threaten to deluge much of the area with snow and rain as the week progresses.
Normally, cold weather comes only when skies are clear, but not this time, said Johnny Burg, a National Weather Service meteorologist. Locally, dueling storm systems are bumping against each other over Western Washington, making for a rare combination of cold temperatures and moisture.
A high pressure system parked over British Columbia is providing cold temperatures, while a weaker system on its way from Alaska down the Pacific Ocean coast is bringing the moisture needed for snow.
Add it up, and much of Snohomish County is preparing for the worst.
“If it snows, our priority will be I-5,” said Mel Reitz, assistant superintendent for operations and maintenance for the state Department of Transportation’s Area 3, which includes most of Snohomish County.
The state has a fleet of trucks with plows and gravel ready to roll if it snows, as do Snohomish County and the larger cities in the county.
“We’re geared up. We’re ready,” Reitz said.
Since it got cold, those same trucks have been spraying de-icer on hills, intersections and curves – anywhere ice is likely to build up. The chemical works by lowering the temperature needed for water on the road surface to freeze. It breaks down quickly after it is applied, and is nontoxic.
“All this week we’ve been out there with the anti-icer,” said Roy Scalf, operations manager for Snohomish County Public Work’s road and maintenance department. “It cuts down on the ice forming a lot.”
Burg said the cold temperatures could hang on for another week, and it’s possible that an even colder system could move into the region next week.
Reporter Lukas Velush: 425-339-3449 or lvelush@ heraldnet.com.
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