Snow day for students, governments; bad drive for commuters

EVERETT — Bundled in a scarf, hat and coat, Peggy Kurtz walked through a snowy Grand Avenue Park on Monday morning with her Airedale terrier Woody, who was sniffing at the 7 inches of drift.

Everett Community College was closed, so Kurtz stayed home from her job teaching for the music department. She said her snow day plans included exploring a monochromatic north Everett with Woody.

“Fortunately it’s still not that cold,” she said.

A storm overnight left more than half a foot of snow in places, causing school closures and making travel difficult for many.

Transportation officials on Monday urged people to stay home and off the I-5 corridor.

Freeways were snow-covered and there were frequent spinouts. As of late afternoon, the Washington State Patrol responded to 147 crashes in Snohomish County. No serious injuries were reported.

This is what it's like right now in Bothell on I-405 at SR 522. If you're thinking about going out, make sure you're comfortable with conditions we aren't use to in this area. If you set out and find you're uncomfortable, turn around or find a parking lot to get off the road. pic.twitter.com/zEJBjovt2l— WSDOT Traffic (@wsdot_traffic) February 4, 2019

Temperatures hovered around 25 degrees throughout the day. And with freezing temperatures predicted to continue, little melting of the snow is likely. That could make for a slippery commute Tuesday as the wet roads ice over.

At 4 p.m. Monday, the National Weather Service in Seattle was predicting a sunny Tuesday with highs reaching 34 degrees in some parts of the county and lows dipping just below freezing. More snow is in the forecast starting Thursday.

Many government services, including city halls, also closed for the day. The Snohomish County offices closed early and weren’t planning on reopening to the public until 10 a.m. Tuesday. Bus systems were running snow routes.

There was one place in Western Washington where it was not snowing — and never will: Inside the new Highway 99 tunnel under downtown Seattle, which opened to commuters Monday morning.

In Everett, a “closed for snow” sign hung on the door to Goldfinch Brothers on Rucker Avenue, but director of operations Kurt Willows still shoveled the store’s walkway.

“Just for the people needing to get in and out today,” he said.

Some cities, like Everett, don’t have dedicated snow plows. Instead six dump trucks are outfitted with snow removal equipment, officials said.

Crews are working 12-hour shifts which run 24 hours a day until the need subsides.

Plowing focuses first on major arterials and key secondary routes that support transit and emergency services, and on a small number of steep residential streets that lack alternative access.

The roads were mostly empty in Everett’s Bayside neighborhood Monday morning, with only an occasional car inching past.

Shannon Stonehocker walked through fresh powder on Grand Avenue with her 4-year-old daughter, Kinley, stopping for snow angels along the way.

Their snow day plans?

“Pretty much this,” Stonehocker said.

The National Weather Service in Seattle reported these accumulations at 6 a.m: Marysville, 8 inches; Everett, Lake Stevens and Arlington, 7 inches; Lynnwood, 6 inches; and Edmonds, 5 inches.

Reporter Lizz Giordano contributed to this story. Julia-Grace Sanders: 425-339-3439. jgsanders@heraldnet.com.