OLYMPIA, Wash. – A winter storm that packed winds of 100 mph and dumped more than a foot of snow in the Pacific Northwest could soon give way to another threat: warmer weather and the potential for flooding.

On Wednesday, at least, some residents in Washington state’s capital tried to find a way to enjoy the abundance of snow in a region not used to huge snowfalls.

From Olympia to the Oregon coast, the storm closed schools, caused dozens of flight cancellations and clogged roads with snow and hundreds of accidents.

Olympia had nearly a foot of new snow on the ground by late morning. Nearly 11 inches was measured at the airport Wednesday. The record is 14.2 inches on Jan. 24, 1972.

Lewis County, south of Olympia, had the highest snowfall amounts, ranging from 12 to 17 inches.

“It’s unusual to get this much snow for western Washington, especially in this amount,” said Dennis D’Amico, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Seattle.

Today’s forecast was for a mix of snow and rain, and the National Weather Service warned that urban and small stream flooding was possible Friday, when another storm was expected to hit the state.

Also, forecasters warned that heavy rain combined with snow melt could lead to some river flooding.

Many courts and government offices and libraries closed. Garbage collection was postponed. Several Seattle hotels reported all their rooms were booked.

Over a 24-hour period ending at 9 a.m. Wednesday, the Washington State Patrol responded to nearly 500 collisions on western Washington roads, spokesman Bob Calkins said.

 

Copy the Story Link