Making the most of a day off from school, Lilly Linder (left) bundles up for a ride on Scarlett through the Tolt Highlands northeast of Carnation during the “blizzard.” Photo by Bianca Linder Last week’s weather wreaked havoc on the region, particularly in the Cascade foothill communities of Duvall and Carnation, Fall City and Redmond Ridge. It is what one local weather expert, Cliff Mass, called “one of the major meteorological disasters of the past decade.”

What is being referred to as an ‘epic’ series of storms, began with the first bands of snow reaching the Snoqualmie Valley two weekends ago. On his weather blog (http://cliffmass.blogspot.com), Mass, a University of Washington atmospheric sciences professor, explained how the region wound up blanketed in snow and then ice. A frigid air mass from Canada’s Fraser River Valley stationed itself over the region as storms rolled in off the Pacific Ocean, overriding the cold air mass closer to the surface. When precipitation fell, it came down as snow and then as freezing rain. Over the course of the week, the storms caused over 250,000 homes and businesess in King County to lose power, according to Puget Sound Energy (PSE). Phone and internet connections were also affected by the storm.

On Saturday afternoon on Preston-Fall City Road, a pick up loaded with fresh firewood passes downed trees that were cleared by county road crews. Photo by Anne Laughlin By the following weekend, temperatures climbed above freezing, icy roads turned to slush, and the focus turned to clean-up. Continued wet and windy weather did not make the clean-up easy. On Sunday, January 22, PSE reported nearly 120,000 homes and businesses still without power in the County. Damaging winds roared through the Cascade Foothills on Sunday afternoon, creating additional power outages. On Sunday night, some residents in Fall City remained without power.

A local, private snowplow company made rounds through downtown Duvall. Photo by Anne Laughlin For the first time, 124th Street across the valley was closed not because of water over the roadway but because downed trees had closed off West Snoqualmie Valley Road to the north and south of 124th. This well-traveled thoroughfare was a dead-end. Road and power crews worked 24 hours a day to clear debris and fallen trees and to restore electricity to over a quarter million homes throughout King County. Duvall’s Mayor Will Ibershof declared the situation an emergency by the end of the week. The declaration came as a result of the inclement weather and subsequent power outage, according to the City website. At the time, the city was bracing for heavy wind and rain over the weekend.

Day by day...

One of a fleet of Puget Sound Energy trucks stationed in the Lower Sno-Valley to help with storm recovery. A crew member works to restore power near the Carnation Library on Tolt Avenue last Saturday afternoon. Photo by Anne Laughlin As early as Sunday, January 15, King County opened cold weather shelters throughout the county to help the homeless and those without power stay out of the cold. The county reported snow letting up around 5:30pm.

By midweek, King County road crews reported very hazardous driving conditions and several road closures. “In many parts of the county, the snow has come down so hard and fast, snow response has been mostly confined to heavily traveled arterials in the county,” the road division said. Road crews worked 12-hour shifts with 24-hour operations countywide. “The county has about 50 pieces of snow removal equipment (ranging from snowplows and sanders to anti-icing vehicles) available to maintain urban, suburban and rural roads.”

On Thursday, January 19, King County Road Services Division reported challenging road conditions as snow and freezing rain continued to fall. “This hazardous mix has resulted in the closure of more than 20 roads just in unincorporated areas of King County alone,” they said. Motorists were cautioned to keep an eye on icy roads as well as to look above for falling trees and limbs. A layer of ice up to a quarter inch thick created a “cap of ice” on top of several inches of snow in the foothills. The weight was too much to bear for many trees and large branches. Before 2:30pm, the City of Seattle sent out an advisory encouraging people to head home before dark to avoid problems with the weather on the commute.

The same day, state Rep. Larry Springer’s tele-town hall was canceled due to the weather. A spokesperson for the representative said there were more than 20,000 homes without power in Olympia. (Springer will hold a town hall meeting in person in the 45th District next month.)

Anticipating melting snow and ice, the County advised residents to check storm drains to make certain they were not clogged.

On Friday, as temperatures warmed above freezing, urban and river flooding along with storm recovery became the focus of road and power crews.

Road closures

Over the week, a particular trouble spot has been West Snoqualmie Valley Road. Crews worked to remove fallen trees. On Saturday, January 21, King County reported more than 25 road closures due to fallen trees. On the local list of road closures were Ames Lake Carnation Road NE between West Snoqualmie Valley Road and NE 80th Street; Kelly Road NE between Mountain View Road and 322nd Ave/NE 145th Street near Duvall; NE Novelty Hill Road between West Snoqualmie Valley Road and 243rd Ave NE in Redmond; West Snoqualmie Valley Road NE at the 10800 block in Redmond; and West Snoqualmie Valley Road between NE 100th Street to the King- Snohomish County Line near Duvall.

After the stormy week, a drive around the Valley to survey damage revealed many branches and trees hanging on power lines or lying on the shoulder of roads such as Woodinville- Duvall Road and Preston- Fall City Road. At 2:00pm on Saturday, traffic stood still at the Green Bridge over the Raging River near Fall City while crews with a bulldozer and dump truck worked quickly to clear debris from the roadway (see photo above).

On Sunday, January 22, there were reports of a tree blocking one lane of SR 203 near 124th Street south of Duvall.

Digging out...

Residents and businesses have done what they can to stay safe and warm. Match Coffee and Wine on Main Street in Duvall remained closed throughout the week. Owners Jolene and Charlie Chase who live in Kirkland said that the first part of the week, the snow made it impossible for them and their employees to get to Duvall. By the end of the week, the cafe still could not open due to the power outage in town. Many chose to stay connected online even with the power out.

“I love Duvall and all the amazing people that live in this community,” said Jolene. “I am Facebook friends with many of our customers [and] I was able to see and be part of all the exchange of information that everyone shared, from weather updates, school and road closures, power outages and information if businesses were opened or closed. It was wonderful to see people pull together to help their neighbors and friends.”

Businesses shoveled snow and ice from the sidewalks and, for restaurants like Match, the long power out meant additional cleanup. for the past 10 years, Peabody took to the streets during the recent storms, starting his work at 2:00am in order to help clear parking lots to help make it safe for businesses to open their doors on time.

Peabody’s resume is impressive with 30 years of equipment operating experience and 25 years as a resident of Alaska where, he said, “a snow event is 6 months” not one or two weeks long.

“Duvall had it light in the beginning [of the week],” said Peabody. “There was nothing here. So I went to Monroe where they had 4-5 inches of snow.” He traveled as far as Monroe, Snohomish and Clearview, helping businesses and residents dig out from the snow and ice, earning $20 to $50 per job.

“I enjoy it. It’s fun,” he added. “There is a parking lot full of snow and, in 20 minutes, it is clear.”

Peabody said he was surprised at how little snow was removed during the major winter snows that hit the Puget Sound region in 2008. It prompted him to

“We spent yesterday going through our food supply and throwing away things that got lost due to the power outage. We will be re-opening on Tuesday next week (January 24),” said Jolene.

Duvall resident, Brandi Painter, echoed Jolene’s sentiments about the challenging week, saying she felt the community does a good job of staying connected, sharing both information and resources.

“What struck me was how generous people were in their willingness to open their homes to their neighbors, share resources (including the much-coveted generator) and to offer encouragement and support as conditions deteriorated,” said Brandi.

Snowplow for hire

One private business who lent other businesses and residents a helping hand during the storms last week was Tim Peabody who runs his own local snow plowing operation (see photo above). A Duvall resident start his private snow plowing business. He likes to “just help out and provide the service” which he does at no cost for senior citizens.

“When it snows here I get up at 2:00am, plow 4-5 business parking lots in Duvall and hope to get done at 6:30 am,” he said. He then heads out to his day job as an equipment operator for Seattle Public Utilities at the Tolt Dam which is located on the South Fork of the Tolt River about 16 miles upstream from Carnation.

When Peabody suspends his private plowing service to go take care of his full-time work, he trades in his half-ton, flatbed all-wheel-drive pick up truck and Meyers snowplow for a 6-wheel-drive grader, a dump truck with a large plow and a sander to plow the drive up to the dam. He said that while the lower Snoqualmie Valley may only have 2 inches of snow on the ground, the area near the Tolt Dam can have 2 feet of snow. A small snowfall in the valley can add up to a major snowfall there.

When asked about the difference between local snowstorms and Alaskan snowstorms, Peabody was quick to answer. “It’s the temperature that makes the difference,” he said. “In Alaska, the snow is always frozen so you can plow it easily. Around here, the snow isn’t frozen so you have to be careful about what’s under the snow.”

Manhole and valve covers on streets can pose a problem. They stick up above the street surface by a half-inch, just enough to catch on a snowplow and break it.

“You have to be careful about what’s under the snow,” added Peabody. “When you go into a new area, you don’t always know what’s under the snow.” For that reason, Peabody takes his time, works carefully and carries some hefty liability insurance.

He also carries an attitude that fits right in with the communities in the Snoqualmie Valley: he is eager and willing to help others in a time of need. Next time around, if you need snowplow assistance, Peabody can be reached at 425-749-0298.

Next up?

Except for another round of rain and wind expected midweek this week, the weather forecast seems to quiet down significantly for the last weekend in January, 2012. Residents and businesses in the valley will likely still be cleaning up from last week’s weather.

Local first responders advise residents to evaluate how well-prepared you were this time around and to prepare for more winter weather ahead. According to the National Weather Service, we are in our second year of the La Nina weather phenomenon, which can mean colder and wetter weather towards the latter half of winter. Checking and replenishing reserves of food, water, batteries, etc. now will help you be prepared for what comes next, sooner or later. Stay current with the River Current News online, breaking news and more. Visit www.RiverCurrentNews.com.