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 story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
After twelve consecutive days of snowstorms, no snow fell yesterday, although during the previous night three inches were added to the total depth, making the aggregate fall since January 26 forty-four inches. The temperature was somewhat higher yesterday, and the snow is gradually melting. The accumulated snow caused the roof of a long frame building on Second street, between Bell and Blanchard, to collapse yesterday morning. The roof of the barn located on the Yesler garden, on Yesler avenue, near Fourteenth street, also fell in yesterday. A horse was in the barn at the time, but escaped injury. Streetcars were struggling, though new snowplows were working to clear lines. The building of the Northwest Horse Market, on Fifth north of Stewart street, collapsed at 6 o'clock yesterday morning from the snow, causing about $500 in damages.
“After twelve consecutive days of snowstorm, no snow fell yesterday.”
In 1893, Seattle's infrastructure was overwhelmed by a 44-inch accumulation of snow that paralyzed the city's nascent cable car systems and caused widespread building failures. Today, a few inches of snow in Seattle still frequently triggers similar transit chaos and panic, demonstrating that despite a century of technological advancement, the region’s topography and climate remain a challenge for the city's logistics.
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