Seattle Snow Day

Having grown up in the Northeast, I've seen a snowstorm or two in my day. After moving to the Pacific Northwest, I realized that the snowstorms are few and far between. The mild temperatures and the large bodies of water that surround Seattle generally keep it from getting cold enough to snow a significant amount within the city limits. In the Northeast, six to eight inches of snow really isn't a big deal and can actually be a common occurrence during the winter months. In Seattle, six to eight inches of snow is crippling, to put it mildly. The hills in Seattle are very steep, much like the hills in San Francisco. Also, they do not use salt on the roads here because it's bad for the waters of Puget Sound. They fill large DOT trucks with sand and sprinkle it on the roads, which really isn't that helpful when you are trying to make it up a hill with a forty-five degree grade. Downtown Seattle is covered with these mammoth hills and the city basically shuts down if they become packed with snow.

Several weeks ago we were blessed with one of these snow days. I say that we were blessed because something magical happens in Seattle when it snows. The entire city becomes a winter wonderland that is filled with smiling faces and people on cross-country skis. We got between six and eight inches of snow and the best way to get around was on foot or on skis, definitely not in a car or even an SUV. The metro buses had chains on their tires and they were running into all sorts of trouble on the hills. I put on some snow boots, which don't see much action and went out for a walk to take in the scenery. I headed south down Seventeenth Avenue towards Ravenna Park. This park is a great place to take a walk no matter what the weather is like. There is a pedestrian-only bridge that you cross before entering the park which looms about seventy or eighty feet above the forest and trails below. Everyone was out walking with his or her dogs and children. There were lots of smiling faces and rosy cheeks everywhere you looked. People were also carrying various objects, which they believed might allow them to slide down hills. These objects included everything from cookie sheets and clothes baskets to the lid off of a hot tub. After entering the park, there is a winding, tree-lined trail that descends into a wooded ravine. All of the trees were covered with snow and I was enjoying how quiet it gets after it snows.

The constant sounds of traffic were absent and had been replaced by a quiet that only snow can bring. I thoroughly enjoyed my walk through the woods and saw a number of cross-country skiers making their way through the trails. A group of teenagers were taking on a steep trail with a small sled. They would shoot down the trail at high speeds and there was another group of teenagers at the bottom that were supposed to stop them before they launched into a creek. It reminded me of sled riding with my brother when we were growing up. As I headed upwards along the trail and back out of the park, there were lots of small children sledding with their parents on a long, gentle hill. Some of these children had probably never seen snow like this and their faces registered amazement and happiness.

After exiting the park, I continued over to Twelfth Avenue where Whole Foods is located. On a normal day it's very difficult to navigate the aisles of Whole Foods. The store is busy no matter what time of day it is. Upon entering the store, I noticed that there was only one register open and the place was deserted. How fabulous! I decided to get a few items for dinner and took a leisurely stroll up and down aisles that I normally avoided because they don't contain items I need and it's too crowded to browse. There was no line waiting for me when I was ready to check out either, only a cashier who was looking out the windows smiling. Everyone was smiling and when you would approach people they would say things like, "isn't it great!" whether they knew you or not.

When I got back home I put the groceries away and turned the television on, which was having all day storm coverage instead of their usual programming. It struck me as kind of funny. You would think that we were having a blizzard or something. They then showed scenes from one of the steeper hills downtown. People were snowboarding, sledding, and downhill skiing on Queen Anne hill. At one point a snowmobile shot past the camera crew and headed up the hill. The police had closed the hill to traffic in an attempt to avoid accidents, which would have been nearly inevitable if anyone attempted it in a vehicle other than a snowmobile. The traffic lights continued through their usual cycles changing from green to red even though the only thing you could see coming from any given direction were skiers or snowboarders.

The snow continued to fall the entire day even though they had said it would change to rain by early afternoon. It cycled between huge, heavy flakes and tiny dry ones off and on into the evening, which was when they changed the forecast. They said that it looked more like it would continue to snow on the higher hills and then possibly change to sleet and freezing rain before eventually warming up and changing to rain. When I went to bed around eleven thirty that night, the freezing rain was coming down fast and furious. The National Weather Service was now issuing a severe icing alert and they were warning of possible power outages. I went to sleep figuring that it would get it out of its system eventually and things would return to normal.

The next morning there was a steady rain falling and the temperature had risen to thirty-four degrees. It had warmed up just enough to allow the snow to begin thawing and the steady rain was clearing the streets so that they would once again be navigable. That is why everything stops and everyone goes out to enjoy the snow here in Seattle. You can't take it for granted and it usually only lasts for a day. The last time it had snowed like this in Seattle had been back in 1996, so you can see what a rare event it truly was. People returned to their normal lives and the snowmen that had been built the day before began to slump and turn into smaller and smaller white lumps in peoples front yards.

I don't imagine there are many cities in the U.S. that have to basically shutdown for this type of snowstorm, but I'm glad that I live in one. Sometimes it's nice when Mother Nature can take an entire city and make everyone take a step back, relax, and just enjoy.