December 2007 Storm And The Devastating Aftermath

On Saturday December 1st as temperatures dipped into the low 30's my 8 year old informed me that his teacher said it was going to snow over the weekend.  We had been hearing about snow most of the week and it had failed to fall so I didn't put to much stock into his teachers prediction. 

But......about 2pm it started falling.    After just a few minutes the ground was covered and it began sticking to the roads.  When it snows in Washington it's very beautiful, but we have a lot of hills and elevated roadways and it's gets pretty hairy....fast!!  We were at my sons basketball game and it kept coming down and before it finally ended about 5pm we got around 4".  But it wasn't done yet.  My daughter and I went to Costco in her car (a little Mazda Protege') and after being in the store an hour and a half we were greeted by serious snow fall.  I was a little nervous driving her car (I'm used to my Tahoe and have no problems getting around) but it was either me or let her drive and I wasn't ready to give a snow driving lesson!  We made it home and by nights end we had gotten 6".  While we were at Costco my husband and sons built a snowman and had a serious snowball fight! 

The measurable snowfall varied in different parts of Western Washington.  From 10" in Hoodsport on the coast to 18" in the mountains.  Skiers were getting excited!!  Well....the snow didn't last.  Unfortunately right behind the cold front was the Pineapple Express.  This is where warm air from Hawaii moves in and warms the temperatures up.  There was a flood warning in affect for most of Western Washington because all the snow that had just fallen in the mountains and at sea level would now melt and have to go somewhere.  And in addition to the snow and rain there was to be wind with gusts up to 50mph.

During the wee hours of the morning on December 3rd the rain started falling.  And if was relentless.  Reports showed we received 4.5-6" of rain in a twenty four hour period.  Add that to the snow we received Saturday and the freezing levels in the mountains rising to 10k feet and it spells disaster.

After dropping my boys off at school I ventured down to Woodinville and at 9:30am they already had one road closed and there was standing water under the trestle, which is also the main road in and out of Woodinville.  I made my way around the block and came upon what was starting to form a lake in the road on the other side of the trestle.  I managed to get out my phone and take some videos to show just how much water was pouring

onto the roadway.  King5 News got better footage  from the helicopter.  Amazingly enough, the following morning at 9:30am all that water was gone and all roads were open.  Before clearing all that water though, 14 roads in and around Woodinville were closed.  I was at Target and when I came out at 2:30pm it took me until 4:15pm to go 5 or 6miles to my home.  What I didn't know at the time was that Hwy 522 was also under water in one section, so we had to go way north to get on I405 and then head south to get back to my house!!  What an ordeal.

Part 2 tomorrow......the devastation throughout Western Washington!

Sandy Noll
Realtor®, eAgent
Keller Williams Realty
425-890-0878
sandranoll@kw.com
www.letsachieveyourgoals.com
Kirkland, Woodinville, Bothell