EVERETT — Severe winter weather in Snohomish County triggered multiple accidents on icy roads and busted scores of pipes.
As of 8:30 p.m. Saturday, heavy snowfall fell across much of the county, although fierce winds that were forecast hadn’t materialized.
Still, sustained winds in the foothills reached about 30 mph. Neil Neroutsos, spokesman for Snohomish County PUD said sustained winds of 40 mph are considered a danger zone, when trees and limbs are more likely to take down power lines. There were reports of scattered outages in Arlington and Monroe.
A number of spinouts were reported on area roads, including a four-car pileup on I-5 near the Snohomish-Skagit County line.
“It was like that all night,” said Mike Jones, a manager at the Denny’s at Island Crossing. “The whole top of the ridge is pretty messy.”
Alaska Airlines, meanwhile, announced Saturday afternoon that it would cancel 47 flights over the weekend between Seattle, Portland, Ore. and Vancouver, B.C., because of the weather. The airline warned that more cancellations or delays are possible.
Freezing temperatures may have broken a sprinkler head at Cedarcrest Middle School in Marysville. Firefighters responded to an alarm and shut off the sprinkler system but not before spraying water caused extensive damage to the school’s library.
The cold weather also forced the Everett Symphony to cancel its ninth annual Sing-Along Messiah performance, scheduled for 3 p.m. today at the First Presbyterian Church in downtown Everett. About 300 people were expected to attend.
“We just didn’t want to risk the safety of our audience or our musicians,” said Jo Hull the symphony’s assistant concertmaster.
Many people in Snohomish County spent much of Saturday experiencing the quiet before the storm
Snow started falling on the coast late in the morning, sifted into Seattle and began pushing north into Snohomish county by late afternoon.
“This will be a major winter storm that will be life-threatening and disruptive to transportation. Conditions are deteriorating very quickly,” Kirby Cook of the National Weather Service in Seattle said.
By 3 p.m., winds already had started picking up in some areas, gusting up to 45 miles per hour near Gold Bar, Cook said.
A winter storm warning went into effect at 4 p.m. Saturday and was expected to last until 10 this morning.
Despite the grim forecast, Evergreen Way in south Everett on Saturday was clogged with traffic.
Grocery store parking lots were full, and families rushed to stock up with food and household items before the storm. Many also were taking care of last-minute holiday shopping.
Jessica Fogg, 22, of Everett, already had all the necessary things in her car and stopped by Claremont Village before work to run some errands.
“I’m kind of worried about leaving my car outside,” said Fogg, who works the graveyard shift at the Kimberly-Clark mill in Everett.
Fogg was planning to go to work Saturday night. With tire chains, warm clothes, food and a flashlight packed in her car, Fogg said she felt safe.
Community Transit buses were up and running but delays were to be expected, spokesman Tom Pearce said.
“We’ve got a lot of dedicated people trying to keep vehicles on the roads,” Pearce said. “If we need chains, we have them.”
Temperatures were chilly across Western Washington on Saturday, plummeting to 6 degrees below zero at the Arlington airport, the weather service reported.
Sustained winds of up to 50 mph were forecast for communities from Lake Stevens east, including parts of Arlington, Granite Falls, Snohomish, Monroe, Sultan, Gold Bar, Index and Skykomish.
People in other areas weren’t expected to be hit as hard, but it doesn’t mean the weather wasn’t messing with their weekend plans.
Leslie Kumar of Everett said she was worried less about possible power outages than her children, who were supposed to fly in from Denver on Saturday night.
“Otherwise, I love it,” she said of the snow.
The higher elevations could see a foot of snow or more, especially near the mountain passes. Up to six inches of snow was forecast to pile up in Everett and other lower-elevation areas.
Brian Dollarhide, 50, who lives south of Warm Beach, has stocked up on firewood and food for the birds and squirrels that inhabit his property. He woke up this morning to about a foot of snow. “We got hit pretty hard here,” he said.
Dollarhide said he had to take a couple of days off work this week. “It takes so long to drive to work, it’s not even worth it.”
As for the storm, Dollarhide said he will be ready with a warm fire and a cup of hot chocolate.
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