A Ten-Inch Snowstorm Buries Seattle and Stalls the Cars

The snowstorm which set in over the city Wednesday evening continued until yesterday at noon, covering the streets and roofs to a depth of about ten inches. The unusually heavy fall seriously impaired the service of all the electric streetcar lines in the city, and the storm extended far into Oregon and played havoc with telegraph lines. The railways suffered no inconvenience, and all trains were arriving and departing on time.

The snow ceased falling about noon, a slight thaw set in, and about 7 p.m. rain began falling. The indications were that the storm would continue today and then be succeeded by colder weather. The storm center appeared to be in the vicinity of Portland, where a snowfall of three feet was reported, and it diminished in strength as it proceeded northward. North of Seattle there was very little snow, and Skagit and Whatcom counties had practically escaped the storm altogether.

George N. Salisbury, weather observer at this city, issued the following bulletin:

"The snowstorm has stopped telegraphic communication with the East and South, so that no weather reports have been received this morning, and it is therefore impossible to issue the usual weather map with synopsis and forecast. The snow which began in Seattle at 6:35 last evening and still continues is part of a general storm which was last night central on the Oregon coast. This storm has been hanging off the coast for several days. The falling barometer at the local station this morning, with a reading of 29.14 at 11 o'clock, indicates that the storm center has advanced in this direction. At 5 p.m. yesterday a foot and a half had fallen at Portland, and the snow still continued. It is probable that as much, or more, will fall at Seattle before it is finished. The snow is very moist and therefore heavy, and will in all probability cause blockades on the railroads unless every precaution is taken, and perhaps in spite of all. On account of the great weight of the snow, owners of buildings with weak roofs are cautioned that it would be well to remove the snow from them at once."

"Later.—Reports have just been received from six stations in California and Oregon, which show that the storm continued all night at Portland, and over three feet of snow has fallen there. The storm will probably continue at Seattle today, and be succeeded tomorrow by colder weather."

The Western Union Telegraph Company was having a good deal of trouble with its wires south, there being no line south of the Columbia River in Oregon, and Portland was thus completely cut off from communication, so far as the company's wires were concerned. Communication with San Francisco and California was kept up via the eastern circuit. The Pacific Postal had a wire south, but for a time yesterday it had some trouble with its wires north as far as Woodinville. At 6 o'clock last evening the break had been repaired and the line was working smoothly.

The electric car lines in the city suffered a good deal from the storm, and people living in the outlying precincts experienced much inconvenience in going to and from their homes. The consolidated lines kept running all day, but no pretense was made of keeping schedule time. On the Second and Third street lines snow plows were kept busy clearing the tracks, and trains of two and three cars were operated with all the speed and regularity possible.

What came very nearly being a disastrous accident occurred on the Second Street line yesterday morning at Madison Street. An electric train of three cars went dead at the crossing of the cable road, and in a few seconds a cable car came down the hill. The electric cars refused to move, and the gripman on the cable car let go the cable and applied the brakes. The brakes happened to hold the wheels on the slippery tracks; otherwise a collision would have been the inevitable result.

The Fremont and Green lines were tied up, and it was said there was no hope of getting cars through until the snow disappeared. In the other outlying districts it had been somewhat easier to keep the tracks clear than in the north, for there was not the continuous passage of vehicles and pedestrians to pack the snow. The Union Trunk line had not closed down altogether, and the Grand Street line started running after 10 o'clock in the morning.

The cable lines did not seem to mind the snow and kept running all day on schedule time, the Front Street cable running all Wednesday night to keep the conduit clear. The only accident from the snow was reported from the Lake Washington branch of the Union Trunk line, where two cars collided near Walla Walla addition Wednesday night. No one was hurt, but the ends of the cars were more or less scratched. The telephone wires in the city were in good order, but the long-distance wire to Portland was down. An effort was to be made to restore communication. The wire east to Spokane was in good shape.