The Great Freeze of '92
Seattle and the surrounding region are paralyzed by record snowfall and freezing temperatures, leading to train delays, roof collapses, and a surge in labor prices.
The worst snowstorm which has prevailed here in the past decade is still raging. Although it has stopped snowing, the drifts have blocked the railroad tracks, and some of the country roads are impassable. The thermometer stood at 5 degrees below zero on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings. The snow has delayed trains for several days. The Coeur d'Alene trains are almost twenty-four hours behind time, and the snowplow was required to clear the track. The main line of the Northern Pacific is running its trains on time, but the branch is meeting deep snows in the Palouse country. The shovellers have commanded high prices for clearing roofs, as since the fall of the armory, property owners have feared that the tons of snow on the roofs of their buildings would cause the collapse of the structures. The ruling price is $1 per hour for day work on roofs, and $2.50 has been paid for labor at night.
“The shovelers have commanded high prices for clearing roofs, as since the fall of the armory, property owners have feared that the tons of snow on the roofs of their buildings would cause the collapse of the structures.”
Extreme weather events like the 1892 freeze expose the fragility of regional transit and infrastructure, a reality still seen in Seattle's contemporary struggle to manage snow and ice in a city built on steep hills.
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