Snowmaggedon in Seattle!

sledding, skiing, tobogganing - click to enlarge


A snowman on the ledge of Kinnear Park, with a view of the needle. Click to enlarge.


Walking...click to enlarge

It's been a hairy, but beautiful day in the Puget Sound region. As the storm first hit last night, it took me nearly three hours to get home to the Ballard Neighborhood in Seattle, which had no snow at all. But overnight it began to come down...with a vengeance.

By noon today, more than half a foot of snow had fallen in parts of the Puget Sound region, and especially the hills (of which Seattle has at least eight good sized ones). 9 inches fell in parts of Redmond, near where I work, and north of Seattle in Arlington, two feet came down in some communities. Most work and school is cancelled. And there will be an even bigger storm this weekend.

We're about as good at dealing with the snow as we are with sunshine. Actually, we exploit the sunshine better than anyone on earth. Snow, however. . .we know how to play in it, but driving? The streets and freeways are littered with abandoned cars, jackknifed buses, and people just simply stuck, with bad tires, and no chains.

The best part of all this chaos: in the neighborhoods, most people don't drive. So everyone is walking, sledding, and cross country skiing. And it's quiet, both from the lack of cars, and the snow muffling the vehicles that are on the road...
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