Crews across the North Olympic Peninsula are bracing for the season’s first winter storm, which has been predicted to blow in subfreezing temperatures after a day and night of rain and wind.
Although the matrix is changing almost hourly, National Weather Service forecasters say that the cold temperatures expected to arrive by Sunday will be the lowest 18 years.
Road and utility crews are on standby today, waiting with sand, plows and work trucks in place for a snowy, windy blast that the Weather Service predicts will begin tonight and continue through the weekend.
“We’ll be ready for it,” Clallam County road manager Rob Hooker said.
The Weather Service is calling for an abrupt transition to much cooler temperatures across the region, with heavy mountain snow and lowland snow throughout the weekend.
Subfreezing temperatures, and perhaps more snow, will follow late today and Sunday in what the Weather Service has said may be Western Washington’s worst winter storm since December 1990.
“There’s really not a whole lot we can do until we see what happens,” said Dennis Shaw, general superintendent for the Clallam County Public Utility District, which provides electrical power to all Clallam residents except for those in the city of Port Angeles.
“We’ll keep an eye on the weather. If winds are building and we’re starting to have outages, typically what we do is open up the dispatch center.”
He noted that forecasts are often wrong.
The Weather Service issued a high wind watch and winter storm watch for the Port Angeles and Sequim areas, predicting snow accumulations of 3 to 5 inches, with an east wind between 18 and 28 mph and gusts as high as 41 mph.
Wind gusts of 37 mph were forecast for Forks, with 1 to 2 inches of snow today, followed by more snow on Saturday and Sunday, and a possible low temperature on Sunday of 19 as cold air blows in from the Yukon.
“It’s anybody’s guess how much we’ll get and where we’ll get it,” said Ross Tyler, Clallam County public works engineer.
County crews will be on call through the weekend, he said.
“It never seems to snow Monday through Friday,” Tyler said.
The tipping point for wind-caused power outages on the North Olympic Peninsula area is about 50 to 55 mph, Shaw said.
Widespread power outages can occur on the West End if a Bonne¬Âville power line goes out and crews have to come in from Olympia to make the repairs.
“There’s only so much you can do with all these trees,” Shaw said.
Keeping highways clear
Bill Riley, maintenance operation superintendent for the state Department of Transportation office in Port Angeles which serves the entire North Olympic Peninsula, said he was getting conflicting forecasts from the Weather Service on Thursday about the severity of the storm.
A wind forecast of 60 mph was downgraded to 15 to 30 mph later in the day.
Transportation crews will be available around the clock this weekend to treat slick roads with liquid chemicals and salt if needed, Riley said.
“We’re going to have 24-hour coverage through the weekend going until Monday,” he said.
“Then we’ll baby-sit this thing until we get into better weather.”
The agency is already prepared for the worst, he said. Tanks are filled and chain saws are sharpened
Riley said crews will work 12-hour shifts beginning today as the weather moves in.
National park on alert
Threats of high winds are getting the full attention of Olympic National Park officials. The park was ravaged by windstorms in each of the past two winters.
Barb Maynes, park spokeswoman, said employees have been apprised of the forecast, and the office is tracking the storm.
“There are areas in the park, like Heart O’ The Hills and the Hoh Rain Forest, where when a big storm with high winds is forecast, we take the proactive step of asking visitors to leave for their own safety,” Maynes said.
In advance of high winds, park officials will close roads and evacuate campers from wind- and flood-prone areas.
As of Thursday afternoon, Maynes said it was too early to determine what measures will be taken with the impending weather.
The park has certain problem areas where high winds have a greater impact.
The topography of the Heart O’ The Hills area, for example, lends itself to more wind damage, she said.
“Our primary concerns are visitor and employees’ safety,” Maynes said.
“This is not new to us,” Riley said. “We’ve been doing this quite a few years.”
Port Angeles streets
The city of Port Angeles has 144 miles of streets and roads within the city limit, and limited snow-removal crews. It focuses on clearing the main arterials, city spokeswoman Teresa Pierce said.
City crews will be on standby, Pierce said. Plows have been installed on city trucks, and sand is ready to spread.
“We’re ready,” Pierce said.
“Since we’re ready, it probably won’t snow.”
City officials ask drivers to park in their driveways rather than streets after snow falls to give the plows room to operate.
Disconnecting hoses and closing the vents around house foundations are good ways to avoid frozen water pipes, Shaw said.
Jefferson County plans
“We have all of our plows ready,” for snow removal this weekend if they are needed, said Jack Reed, Jefferson County road operations manager.
On Thursday, the Weather Service also issued a winter storm watch for the Port Townsend area, saying that snow accumulations of 1 to 3 inches are possible tonight, with an east wind at about 32 mph and gusts as high as 50.
The Hood Canal area as well as the Kitsap Peninsula are expected to get the first snow of the storm, perhaps by 4 p.m. today.
Icy driving conditions during the cold snap may be the biggest issue for Jefferson County drivers, Reed said.
He encouraged drivers to be prepared for winter driving conditions.
Bob Martin, manager of the Clallam County Emergency Management Department, issued a statement Thursday:
“This will likely be the first severe winter driving conditions this winter, so extra caution is warranted.”
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-417-3537 or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
