Why am I always writing about the weather???
I have to admit, this place is really beautiful when it snows. We got our first lasting snow today, about 4-5 inches by the looks of my balcony railing. I think maybe it's so beautiful because of the type of snow it is. It's the really fluffy stuff. So all of the trees look like they've been iced. There are clouds hanging in the valley, but it's a clear day, and you can see the mountains on the other side of the Columbia.
This place is kind of crazy when it snows, though. In Illinois, when it snows, the DOT dumps tons of salt on the roads. And usually by the next day, the roads are clear, no matter what the temperature. Here the temperature pretty much hovers around 32 degrees all winter, so they don't use salt on the roads. That means that on days like today, when it's 22, the roads are particularly nasty. Road crews shove as much snow as they can off to the side, but they just leave a slushy, icy mess on the roads to melt off in a day or two. On curves, they apply a liquid to the roads that is supposed to keep them clear, but other wise, they just throw down some sand on top of the snow. Well, sometimes that day or two turns into a week, and you spend that week slip-sliding along until finally the ice melts. Fun times!
We had an interesting Thanksgiving because of the snow. We tried to get to Tacoma to visit some friends. However, we got about halfway there when it started to snow really hard up on Snoqualmie Pass. We got to put chains on our vehicle for the first time, with the help of a really nice guy from Yakima named Christian. Then as soon as we got back on the roadway, traffic stopped dead. It turned out that there was an accident that was blocking the roadway. So we got off 90 and decided to wait a little while. Eventually we turned back because after a half hour, traffic didn't seem to be moving any faster, and there was a huge back up at the entrace ramp to get back on the road.
It was lucky we did turn back, because the roads were pretty slippery. We ended up fishtailing down one hill, which I can attribute to my inexperience driving on hills in the snow. We made it home safely, though, and had Thanksgiving here in Wenatchee. Up on Snoqualmie, it snowed all weekend. If we had made it to Tacoma, the drive back later in the weekend would have been nastier than it already was. On Thanksgiving Day, there was roughly 22 inches of snow on Snoqualmie. I believe the next day there was just as much. The joys of living in the mountains. Too bad we don't ski. : )
Someone else who was up there that night shot this video.
This place is kind of crazy when it snows, though. In Illinois, when it snows, the DOT dumps tons of salt on the roads. And usually by the next day, the roads are clear, no matter what the temperature. Here the temperature pretty much hovers around 32 degrees all winter, so they don't use salt on the roads. That means that on days like today, when it's 22, the roads are particularly nasty. Road crews shove as much snow as they can off to the side, but they just leave a slushy, icy mess on the roads to melt off in a day or two. On curves, they apply a liquid to the roads that is supposed to keep them clear, but other wise, they just throw down some sand on top of the snow. Well, sometimes that day or two turns into a week, and you spend that week slip-sliding along until finally the ice melts. Fun times!
We had an interesting Thanksgiving because of the snow. We tried to get to Tacoma to visit some friends. However, we got about halfway there when it started to snow really hard up on Snoqualmie Pass. We got to put chains on our vehicle for the first time, with the help of a really nice guy from Yakima named Christian. Then as soon as we got back on the roadway, traffic stopped dead. It turned out that there was an accident that was blocking the roadway. So we got off 90 and decided to wait a little while. Eventually we turned back because after a half hour, traffic didn't seem to be moving any faster, and there was a huge back up at the entrace ramp to get back on the road.
It was lucky we did turn back, because the roads were pretty slippery. We ended up fishtailing down one hill, which I can attribute to my inexperience driving on hills in the snow. We made it home safely, though, and had Thanksgiving here in Wenatchee. Up on Snoqualmie, it snowed all weekend. If we had made it to Tacoma, the drive back later in the weekend would have been nastier than it already was. On Thanksgiving Day, there was roughly 22 inches of snow on Snoqualmie. I believe the next day there was just as much. The joys of living in the mountains. Too bad we don't ski. : )
Someone else who was up there that night shot this video.
posted by Brad Smith at 11:02 AM
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