Yikes! Is it really that bad in Seattle today?

[Patiod]

Am heading to Kirland/Bellevue area today, and the folks at the office out there called to say "you might not want to come - roads are icy and we're expecting snow tonight" I'm supposed to fly in tonight, and work all day tomorrow.

Will people want to drive tomorrow? Are Seattlites brave drivers (like Buffalo or Rochester) or wimpy (like Philadelphia or DC)?

What's it like out there now, (roadwise) and what's it supposed to be like tomorrow?

[swag]

1. They're wimpy.

And Porland, Oregonians are also wimpy.

[Parche]

6. portland

I agree, I have lived in Portland all my life, and when an inch of snow falls
its breaking news.....and they keep it on the news all day.......

[swag]

8. Yeah, like today.

And such chaos on the #8 bus.

I thought the OHSU employees were going to riot against the bus driver.

[Parche]

10. 8

I take MAX and then the 68 connector downtown!!!

[swag]

13. Where do you get off of the MAX?

[Parche]

16. max

Collins circle

[Haole Girl]

2. It's not a matter of bravery

There is nothing one can do with black ice and freezing mist. If they say not to go, I'd take their advice!

[Patiod]

12. Well, wish me luck - client doesn't want to cancel

Will be going after all.

Thank God I'm used to driving on ice & snow, so at least I have that going for me.......

[SeattleGirl]

15. I was supposed to go to Everett today, 40 miles from where I live

But I called the attorney's office, and she agreed that we could do the appointment with my client over the phone. She didn't think it would be a good idea to try and drive today either, if I didn't have to. Whew!

[Left Is Write]

25. I agree.

I grew up in Minnesota and am experienced at driving in the snow.

Black ice? Whole other issue entirely.

[philosophie_en_rose]

3. Yes. The snow and ice are only half the problem.

The hell is the other drivers.

[yewberry]

4. It's awful today.

The roads are completely iced over and the secondary roads are apt to stay that way. We don't salt the roads here. Some of the freeways are okay, but they're not great. The forecast hovers near freezing today and then in the teens tonight, so the roads will refreeze tonight if there is any melting.

And the drivers aren't used to snow. The first winter I remember here (I'm from New England) I was stunned to see people actually abandoning their cars and walking on icy roads. I still don't get that.

Good luck!

[Missy Vixen]

Hey Patiod, I gotta' answer your e-mail

It's the last three days of nanowrimo and I'm nuts. That's why I'm on DU ;-).

It's a mess here. The Washington State Patrol was telling people to not drive at all this morning if they could possibly avoid it. There's ice everywhere. Most of the reason why people are told to stay off the roads (in my opinion) is that the area is relatively hilly. Also, people think they can drive the speed limit when it's a sheet of black ice and be just fine. There were lots and lots of wrecks this morning, and people were actually abandoning their cars on the freeway. I have seen this before. It's not pretty.

Here's some resources to check out what's going on. I hope you'll still be here -- we're looking forward to seeing you! -- but I understand if you have to reschedule. (Bring warm clothes. It's FREEZING, and there's a windchill.)

www.komotv.com
www.king5.com
www.kirotv.com
www.seattletimes.com

I hope everything else is great.
Julie

[flamingyouth]

5. It's icy and awful.

We're not going anywhere today. All the schools are closed and the state patrol is recommending people to stay off the roads.

On edit - We don't get all that much snow, so no one knows how to drive in it. It's utter mayhem here when it snows. Your flight may very well be delayed, and we're expecting more snow tomorrow.

More info: www.komotv.com

[tigereye]

19. stay warm and cozy!

:hi:

black ice is nothing to mess with.

We live on top of a big hill, have had cars and trucks slide into our garage at times, even with salt, etc.

[flamingyouth]

26. We're staying in, just turned up the heat

They don't salt the roads here - yikes, though - that must be scary when vehicles slide into your garage. :scared:

[tigereye]

28. nah, it's our Christmas Eve entertainment! and -

no one has been hurt. Our street was Belgian Block until recently, guess we won't be able to enjoy watching folks ignore the "watch for ice" sign and come speeding around the corner and try to brake when they see the giant hill!


:evilgrin:

[flamingyouth]

30. Your insurance company must just love you

:evilgrin:

[tigereye]

33. actually there's never been a claim!

one time the salt truck guy got stuck on the hill and dumped pounds and pounds of salt right by the garage.

I think he may have had a few after Midnight Mass! ;)

(and that's probably enough, before I bore you silly.)

[terrya]

22. Oh, my...that's the kind of weather WE get.

Sheesh. Of course, the nice weather we've got now is coming to an end....ah, well.

That's a good idea about not going anywhere today. Hopefully, it will be better tomorrow. Take good care of yourselves.

[flamingyouth]

24. We are, thanks

We stocked up on food, knowing this was coming, thankfully. :D

[Missy Vixen]

34. I'm glad to hear that you and your love are keeping each other warm ;-)

We went to the store the other night, too.

Me: "We'd better get a few extra things, I don't like what I just read at weather.com."
DH: "It'll be fine."

We talked last night. He said, "Good thing you got extra food." ;-)

DH went on a business trip yesterday and will be back later this week. I am so grateful to be in a nice, warm house with plenty of food, power, and three kitties to keep me warm. I am thinking about people who maybe aren't as lucky as I am. :cry:

Julie

[swag]

7. I apologize to the Seattlites.

[yewberry]

9. So, you're responsible for all this, eh?

Next time you make it snow, could you give me a little notice so that I can get a nice bottle of scotch for my snow day?

[MrCoffee]

11. Ballard to Downtown was no problem at all...

the sidewalks were a little icy, and the bus was about 10 minutes late, but there was no ice at all on 15th/Elliot Ave.

Downtown is ice-free. I guess it hit harder around the city.

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

14. Seatlle, and surrounding areas are a different kind of animal

when it comes to snow and ice. First off it's hilly and curvy and tree lines etc. It doesn't get much snow on average (like 7 inches a year maybe) and so doesn't have all the equipment required to handle this kind of thing.
Cancel if you can.............come back next week when it's only raining like hell :)

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

17. There's a good reason a little bit of snow paralyzes Seattle.

For decades, the local news just sets up cameras at the bottom of the hills when it snows and tapes all the accidents.

[ismnotwasm]

18. It's been worse

The problem with Seattle is that snow isn't really that common. Not in November especially-- and what we have usually lasts just a few days, if that. Combined it with black ice and hilly areas and people who don't really know how to drive on the shit, you have problems.

Of course there are Seattlites who don't know how to drive in the rain either. They're the ones who cut you off and splash your windshield so you can't fucking see. I would like to pretend those who do things like that are from California, but I know better.

[Missy Vixen]

20. The only times I can remember that were worse

and I'm a native:

The 1990 blizzard. Nobody that was in it will EVER forget it. It hovered in the low teens and single digits for almost a week, and the city of Seattle came to a virtual standstill. (We heard lots of stories of those who worked in downtown Seattle and could not get home sharing hotel rooms with strangers. The hotels also hosted as many people as they could in their lobbies.) I walked to work because there were no buses on 148th in Bellevue. At all. I saw a brand-new Mercedes (dealer stickers still in the window) abandoned on a traffic island in the middle of 148th. When I got a little further down, I looked over the side of the overpass across 520. Both sides of the freeway was lined with abandoned vehicles as far as the eye could see.

The huge snowfall of 1995, the day after Christmas. It was the only time in my memory that malls in the area completely closed for business after Crossroads Mall in Bellevue suffered a roof collapse due to the snow. We'd just moved into our first home. There was an apartment house 500 feet from our back door that had a carport collapse. Lots of people got their cars totaled. Someone had a video camera running; we saw the pictures on the national news.

This is particularly nightmarish after the flooding. Things will go back to normal next week. In the meantime, I'm staying off the road, and I'm hoping that everyone we care about is safe and sound.

Julie

[Mojambo]

21. I work at Crossroads mall

I started in 96, but I was hanging out there in 95.

That was a bad ass snow!

[flamingyouth]

23. Yeah, 1990 and '95 were way worse than this

I had the foresight to leave work early in '90. It was the day of our holiday party and everyone laughed at me.

Yes, I was the only person who actually made it home and didn't either sleep in the unheated office (no power), in their car, or abandon their car by the side of the road and trek home in snow for seven hours or so.

1995 was such a shock. I just remember waking up and thinking, "Why is there no traffic?" (We lived downtown.) Then I looked out the window. :wow: The roof of the Rite Aid next to our building collapsed in the ensuing melt that year, IIRC.

Ah yes. Lots of fun.

Stay warm today! We're staying in too! :hi:

[SeattleGirl]

29. Man, that 1990 blizzard was a freakin' nightmare.

I worked in Federal Way, and lived on Capital Hill. It took me 5 or 6 hours to get home. Once I reached Pike Street and started going up the hill, found a line of cars that were stuck in the middle of the road. So, we all banded together, and would push the first car in line until it got going, then go to the next one, and the next one. It worked. And, once we all started up the hill, we did NOT stop at lights. There were very few cars out in that area, especially on the side streets, moving around. We all just laid on our horns as we got to cross streets to warn any oncoming cars (who were essentially on flat streets there)that we weren't stopping. I was never so glad to get him in my life!

[tigereye]

32. that's what you have to do when it's really bad

if you lose momentum you are simply stuck.


That's what we do here in West Pa when there is a LOT of snow. (like 5 inches or more.)

[ismnotwasm]

31. Those snowstorms in the '90's

I was still working in a nursing home. We stayed in close by hotels or in the nursing home itself to make sure it was staffed adequetely. I've lived here all my life as well. I guess I agree, after record rain and floods, the snow and ice is pretty damn bad.

[Sanity Claws]

27. It's bad.

All schools and courts are shut. I heard the Microsoft campus is also closed.
We only got a couple of inches of snow in Seattle but we're not prepared for it. We don't have the equipment to salt the roads. We have lots of hills and it's treacherous to drive on them.
Good luck but you may want to reconsider coming here. Call and find out if your event is still on.

[Patiod]

35. Well, I slid down a hill this morning

stopping 6" from the car in from the car in front of me.

If it warms up tonight, we'll be okay. If not, it should be scary :scared:

I'm used to driving in ice and snow in PA, but I'm also used to ploughs and salt....

[SeattleGirl]

36. We're going to get caught in the crosshairs.

According to weather reports, it will start warming up later this week, but the warm front has to push the cold front out, which means the cold front will "attack" us before it leaves. :scared: is right.