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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1871 | 1 |
| 1876 | 3 |
| 1877 | 3 |
| 1880 | 1 |
| 1882 | 1 |
| 1883 | 4 |
| 1884 | 1 |
| 1885 | 3 |
| 1886 | 2 |
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| 1893 | 9 |
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62 stories matching melt
- A Fiery Catastrophe at the Tacoma Mill
A newly installed furnace at the Tacoma Mill overheated with such intensity that its massive iron stack melted and collapsed, narrowly missing the workers nearby.
- The Zephyr’s Relief Mission to the Snohomish Valley
After the mountain snows melted and triggered a devastating flood, the steamer Zephyr served as a critical lifeline to the isolated settlers of the Snohomish River valley.
- When the Skagit River Swallowed Mount Vernon: The Great Flood of 1894
A sudden heat wave melted mountain snow, sending rivers over their banks and putting whole towns underwater. In Mount Vernon, 300 men fought a losing battle against the rising Skagit.
- Seven Inches in Ten Days: The Flood That Broke Puget Sound
A warm Chinook melted mountain snow into relentless rain, washing out the Northern Pacific, wrecking the Naphtha launch works, and isolating towns from Tacoma to Seattle.
- The Great Flood of 1888
Torrential rains and melting snow paralyze the Snohomish and Stillaguamish valleys, destroying bridges and disrupting rail travel to Monte Cristo.
- The Deluge Strikes the Sound
Heavy rains and melting mountain snow cripple regional rail lines and cause flooding across King and Snohomish counties, leaving trains stranded in mudslides.
- The Great Herring Flood: When the Duwamish River Turned White
May 1877: A bizarre natural phenomenon turns Seattle’s waterways into a slippery, smelly carpet of dead fish, while loggers race to beat an early spring flood.
- Twenty Inches of Snow Bring Seattle to a Standstill
A February 1893 blizzard blocks streetcars, freezes water pipes and threatens a coal famine, forcing schools to close and residents to melt snow for drinking water.
- The Unruly Puyallup River Threatens the Northern Pacific Bridge
Contractors scramble to hold the line as melting mountain snows turn the river into a destructive force against railway infrastructure.
- Winter Thaw Damages Yakima Valley
A rapid melting of snow causes significant disruption to irrigation infrastructure and roads.
- A Chinook Wind Melted Seattle's Snow—and Nearly Swamped the Sound
A furious overnight blow downed telegraph wires, sent a 1,600-ton ship back out to sea, and left Seattle wondering what the storm had done in the Straits of Fuca.
- The Man Who Wouldn't Die: A Seattle Gallows Horror
In a gruesome spectacle that shook the young Territory of Washington, Francis Epps survived his own hanging by mere inches, crying for mercy as the crowd watched him dangle in agony before being cut down.
- Railroad Disaster and Drowned Fireman in the Skagit Flood
A catastrophic flood in the Skagit Valley leads to two consecutive train wrecks and the death of fireman Ed Cole, leaving his young family behind.
- The Great Seattle Freeze-Up
After twelve straight days of record-breaking snowfall, Seattle residents finally see a reprieve as roofs collapse and city transit grinds to a halt.
- The Great Nooksack Flood
Heavy rains and melting snows have devastated the Nooksack Valley, leaving farmers homeless and destroying livestock.
- Record Floods Wreak Havoc at Kettle Falls
Unprecedented mountain snowmelt triggers massive flooding on the Columbia, washing away bridges and isolating local settlements.
- 7,000 Miners Head for the Skagit, But High Water Halts the Diggings
Spring freshets wash out the wingdams on Ruby Creek while hundreds of men wait at the Portage for a trail and pack animals — and California newspapers predict a stampede of thousands.
- Firefighters Battle Freezing Hose at 1893 Blaze
When an arctic blast hit Seattle, firemen responding to a blaze returned to their stations as living statues of ice.
- Tragic Drowning En Route to Wedding
A young rancher loses his life while attempting to ford the flooded Nisqually River to secure his marriage license.
- Canoeing the Queets: Promise and Dispossession on the Olympic Peninsula
An 1892 travelogue celebrates homesteaders in the Queets River valley while arguing that Native hunters should be confined to the reservation.
- The Day Everett Lined Up at the Bank
In the Panic of 1907, rumor emptied Everett's savings accounts in an afternoon — until the bank stacked gold coin in the window.
- The Sad Mystery of Alfred Peterson
A lonely traveler dies in a Seattle hotel room, leaving behind only tax receipts, a scrap of land, and a collection of melancholy poetry.
- The Mud of the Highlands
Melting snows leave Kennewick rural routes impassable, forcing students to crawl over dangerous flumes to get home.
- Tragedy on the Rails: Two Die in Pasco Train Wreck
A passenger train derails through a trestle, killing two men riding the rails.
- The Perils of 'Coasting' in Downtown Seattle
A winter evening of sledding on the city's steep hills resulted in multiple injuries, leaving one young man unconscious.
Also about this, in other words
- The Glass-Chewing Drifter of Seattle
A traveling laborer with a bizarre appetite is arrested after a barroom brawl ends in broken glass and a ruined mirror.
- The Fight for the Melting Pot
A Kennewick citizen demands the state abolish private schools to ensure all children are raised with a single, nationalist loyalty.
- A Breakfast Tragedy at Pacific Avenue
A local woman’s accidental encounter with a cable car turns the intersection into an omelette station.
- The Great Thaw: Mountain Snows Turn Every River Into a Rampage
An unusually cool spring held a winter's worth of snow until a few hot days sent it all down at once, flooding the Skagit, Cowlitz and Columbia, drowning farmland and putting Portland under water.