kodalai | Thanksgiving winter something-land

So, some of you may remember (or not remember) that in the winter of 2008, the pacific northwest had an unusually heavy snowfall (fondly referred to as the Snowpocalypse '08) that shut the city down for a month -- not because it was a particularly severe storm by anybody else's standards, but because the city's response pretty much consisted of "do nothing and wait for it to melt." This is their normal response to snow in Seattle, since normally it melts by morning -- but in this case, it resulted in the city being essentially shut down for a week, and the spectacle of a bus almost sliding off a freeway.

After the winter of 08, city residents were irate, and it was said to be a large part of the reason why the mayor was voted out the next election cycle, to be replaced by a republican, who presumably know more about snow clearing. Winter of '09 was a more normal PacNW winter, with not a snowflake to be seen the entire winter; but it looks like Winter of '10 will be a different matter.

We had temps in the 30s as early as October -- highly unusual, even by November it doesn't usually get below 50. And this Monday we had our first snowfall. Again, by anybody's standards by here it was not really all that much snow, maybe 3-4 inches. But when the snow hits the road, melts a little bit, and then freezes over, 3-4 inches is enough. By late Monday night, pretty much every road in the greater Seattle metropolitan area was locked under a sheet of ice. And, not unlike the snowfall two years ago, no plowing or salting was done.

I actually went home early on Monday, not due to the weather but due to feeling sick and dizzy. The original plan was actually to go see Harry Potter with a friends, which we had to cancel. It turned out to be just as well, though; by late Monday afternoon some people were stuck for anywhere between 4-6 hours on the freeway trying to go home after a workday. Trying to go from Des Moines to Lynnwood on the I-5 at approximately seven or eight PM would have been a disaster.

I had told my supervisor months ago that due to the location of my new residence -- suburban Lynnwood, with many steep hills between me and freeway access -- I would probably not be able to make it in if it snowed. Well, on Tuesday morning, feeling especially optomistic, I decided to try anyway. I got about halfway down the steep hill about 5 minutes away from home, at which point I saw headlights of an oncoming car in the cross-street. I got worried that perhaps the cross-car would not be able to stop, so *I* tried to stop. With predictable results. I fishtailed off the road and slid face-first into the ditch. At which point I decided "yeah, not making it to work today."

I took a moment this thanksgiving to be thankful for the kindness of passersby with chains. Actually the first gentleman who stopped didn't have chains, but he was very helpful anyway, parking so as to block other people from hitting my car and offering me his cell phone to call a tow. I did call a tow, but was told that since Seattle was full of other dumbasses like me, it would be a 3-4 hour wait before they could send out a truck. Which left me with the option of staying with my car until then -- the responsible option, but I also wasn't sure I would have enough gas to keep running that long, and it was too cold to stay with my car without the heat on -- or calling my roommate to come get me, then trying to get back to my car when the tow arrived.

Thankfully the next passerby to stop and offer to help DID have chains, so he was able to pull me out of the ditch and set me in the right direction up the hill. Then the first gentleman actually got his car behind me and pushed me up the hill, giving me enough momentum to get started. I was able to get home, park my car, and take the rest of the day off in an unexpected snow day.

Tuesday was actually quite gorgeous -- clear and sunny, and also a high of 18 degrees. Fortunately the sun was able to melt SOME of the snow on the less-shady roads. By Wednesday morning enough of the major roads had cleared that I was able to take an alternate, non-hilly route to the freeway and make it to work.

Weather turned absolutely filthy by Thursday -- alternating snow with freezing rain, cold, slick, grey, and generally bleah. I was quite happy to be able to spend the day at my friend Tassa's house with many friends, warm and deliciously aromatic, where she cooked a lovely spread: turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, green beans, two different kinds of delicious pie, and giant marshmallows to toast over their working fireplace. The rest of the afternoon was spent drinking wine (I didn't drink as much as the others, who didn't have to drive, but I drank enough to enjoy myself at dinner) watching the Saints cream the Cowboys on TV, and playing Apples to Apples.

As of this morning the weather has thankfully returned to Seattle winter normal -- and I never thought I'd say that -- gray, soggy, and in the 50s. All but the most stubborn snow and ice has melted, leaving only mud and grit behind. Now we're just waiting for the next snowfall, during which I will hopefully have learned my lesson about trying to drive to work on iced-over streets.