SPOKANE — This northeast Washington city virtually ground to a halt Thursday, in the grip of a winter storm that dropped about two feet of snow.
The National Weather Service said 23.3 inches fell on the city in the 36-hour period that ended at 4 p.m. Thursday.
The storm set a local record for snowfall in 24 hours when 19.4 inches of snow was recorded at Spokane International Airport in the period that ended at 10 a.m. Thursday. The old record of 13 inches was set in 1950. Records have been kept since 1881.
Schools, most government offices and some businesses shut down because travel in the city of 200,000 was extremely treacherous. Many schools also planned to remain closed Friday, giving an early start to Christmas break.
Officials declared a “Condition Red” snow emergency, meaning crews will work 24 hours a day, seven days a week until they complete a full city plow. The city also was hiring private contractors to help clear 967 miles of streets.
“We’ve deployed all of our snow removal equipment and are calling in more from the private sector to efficiently and effectively open our streets,” Mayor Mary Verner said. “This is our priority.
“The city of Spokane is the heart of this region, and we will get the community moving.”
High temperatures for today were forecast at 9 to 12 degrees, with winds gusting from 10 to 15 mph. Another snowstorm was expected to drop 3 to 5 inches on the city this weekend, with more snow predicted for Christmas Eve.
The airport was open, but flights were delayed much of the day Thursday because runways could not be plowed fast enough and loading and deicing planes was hampered, spokesman Todd Woodard said.
Heavy snow was falling across much of Washington and especially in the northeastern part of the state, a region that last year endured one of the snowiest winters in its history.
As of 2 p.m. Thursday, the weather service said Pullman had received 6 inches, Loon Lake in Stevens County had received 15 inches, and most counties that surround Spokane were getting 7 to 10 inches.
The town of Dayton, near the Blue Mountains in southeastern Washington, received a record 11 inches of snow in the 24-hour period ending at 8 a.m. Thursday. That obliterated the old record of 3.5 inches set in 1978, the weather service said.
Meanwhile, the state Department of Transportation was struggling to keep highways open, with compact snow and ice the rule on many highways in the eastern part of the state.
“Every piece of equipment is out on the road and our maintenance team is working hard to get the deep snow off the highways,” said Keith Metcalf, the department’s Eastern Region administrator. “We are asking drivers to avoid unnecessary travel.”
Spokane schools were closed Thursday, as were most government offices. The Spokane Transit Authority grounded most of its buses, and garbage pickup was suspended.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
