Surprise snowstorm left many people on thin ice

And the snow shuffle caused some people to have to deal with last-minute problems, such as child care.

Some businesses ended up missing workers who called to say they couldn’t get someone to watch their kids. Others didn’t come in because they just didn’t want to drive in the snow — or they went skiing.

Little Orca Learning Center in Mukilteo was one child care facility that was closed.

"Part of the staff couldn’t get in here," owner Candi Doran said, adding that her husband, Mukilteo Mayor Don Doran, came in to help as parents tried to make other arrangements.

She said she wasn’t sure if she would be open today to take care of her 44 charges.

"It’s up in the air. It depends on the weather," she said.

Of course, with so many people doing the snow shuffle, there were numerous accidents. Tow trucks were seen all over.

While many drivers were having trouble, Everett Transit was doing fine, said Donna Ambrose of the city’s Transportation Service Department.

Community Transit was almost as busy on the phones as it was on the roads. Between 5 and 11 a.m., CT received 884 phone calls, many from first-time riders wanting to find out about service. That’s more than the 750 calls CT normally gets in a day. Ten people manned the phones rather than the normal two.

Public information coordinator Kristin Kinnamon said CT will be on "code red" status as long as the inclement weather persists. That means crews are in a state of readiness, with buses either equipped with tire chains or crews ready to put chains on.

The forecast calls for snow this morning before it starts to warm up around midday and rain continues for a few days.

The southeast area of the county received 4 to 6 inches of snow Tuesday, catching the county Public Works Department by surprise, spokesman Steve Pratt said.

One to 3 inches of snow was expected Tuesday night, and the roads that were wet in the afternoon from melting snow were expected to ice up overnight. So county crews were put on 24-hour duty, and the state Department of Transportation also had crews working around the clock.

With people sliding all over, rock salt was in high demand. At least a couple of stores sold out.

At the Lowe’s in Arlington, snow shovels put near the entrance went quickly. Sand was also a popular item.

But the biggest seller was 40-pound bags of Ice Melts. A pallet of 40 sold in a few hours.

"It’s a hot thing," said Jill Decker, assistant manager in the garden department. "It’s a big deal out here because it’s icy under the snow."

Decker actually seemed pleased when she heard more snow was expected this morning.

"Bring it on," she said. "I’ve got kids at home who will be tickled."

Herald Writer Cathy Logg contributed to this report.

You can call Herald Writer Steve Powell at 425-339-3427

or send e-mail to powell@heraldnet.com.