Weathering Seattle Part 3 of 2: Thought it was over but the snow was just beginning
That is what happens when it snows in Seattle. Well, at least its *some* of what happens.
Oh you thought we were through with the freak winter in the Pacific Northwest this year? Not a chance. A couple of weeks ago on a nice (relative) Monday in Bellevue, the weathermen — nay, meteorologists — of the area predicted three inches of snow for Monday evening. Everyone quivered and shook in their Birkenstocks and Uggz and took off early from work to get home before the blizzard and the traffic. Turns out they were wrong as usual and we got maybe 0.1 inches of snow Monday night.
So Tuesday comes around and they once again predict doom and gloom for the Seattle area and multiple inches of snow. Fool me twice? Pshaw, I say. So I’m at work typing away around 4:30 as I hear the half-conversations of the people on the phone around me. “No kidding… the roads are all blocked up in Kirkland?… That much snow on the ground?…” Of course I glance outside from where I’m sitting and I see nothing but cloudy skies and oncoming sunset. A piddling fifteen minutes pass, the sun sets of course and we have nighttime darkness at 4:45, and I take a second glance outside to see… snow! Snow coming down probably as hard as I have ever seen snow come down. Well I try to pack up and get out of there as soon as I can but by the time I got to my car in the garage and got out, there was already a good half an inch to an inch of fresh powder covering the ground. I did okay driving around the outside portions of the parking lot but as soon as I took the left onto the slightly uphill street, my car didn’t make it more than 25 feet before going into spin city. Granted, I drive a rear-wheel drive sports car with ultra-low-profile summer performance tires on it, so this was not a big surprise to me (or those watching for that matter). I probably would have done better if I had waited for some of the snow to compact, harden, or melt off in an hour or two as cars drove over and past it. Anyway, I reversed over to the side of the road leaving my car for the night, and walked back up to the office, very much defeated by the weather gods.
Luckily for me my boss lives very close to my place and he offered to give me a lift home. He did not however spare any opportunities to make fun of the many more 3 Series or other similar vehicles also stranded on the side of the road as we took our 10-minute-turned-1.5-hour drive home. Thanks Mike. All I have to say to that is, “Yay, Armen!”
The events of that Tuesday weren’t all though; we got more snow again on Saturday and again a couple of days after that. Suffice to say that some side and back roads were well and frozen for over a week. This all gave me the opportunity to score what I think are some pretty photos.
Note, the roads seem snow-free because I didn’t snap this shot until Thursday morning, and this is a very high traffic road. Click through to my Flickr photostream to see a few more shots of the snow around my place. Unfortunately I do not have a picture of my poor car stranded on the side of the road for you to make fun of.
The last few days we have seen some conciliatory gestures by the weather around here; mostly clear days with some very light sprinkling tossed in. A few years ago I might have complained; this year I consider that a blessing. And please, if you live in an area where it snows, ever, learn how to drive (or when to pull over) in those conditions; unlike the idiot in the video up there.