The First Winter Chill Arrives Early
A heavy, unexpected November snowfall signals the end of autumn in the valley as mountain passes are shuttered for the season.
The story, cleaned up
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Although heavy snowfalls in the mountains have been reported for the past week or more, the first to fall in this valley came with a storm that started about 5 o'clock Thursday evening and continued intermittently throughout the night. About three inches of snow was on the ground when the storm abated Friday forenoon. The snow is wet and heavy, and it is not believed it will stay if the weather continues mild. The first snow this year is much earlier than in ordinary years for this valley. The last year that snow fell here in November was in 1916. Three feet of snow at Easton was reported Wednesday morning. The report said it was still falling heavily and that the state on that day had abandoned for the winter all efforts to keep Snoqualmie Pass open. Those who expect to drive through to the Coast between now and spring will have to go by way of Portland.
“Those who expect to drive through to the Coast between now and spring will have to go by way of Portland.”
For a region now defined by high-tech agriculture and the legacy of the Hanford Site, the annual concern over mountain passes like Snoqualmie remains a constant thread of Pacific Northwest life. While we have better tools to clear roads today, the struggle against the Cascade winter remains as central to the local economy as it was a century ago.
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