Vehicles inch their way down a snow-covered section of Front Street into downtown Port Angeles on Saturday morning after snow blanketed the North Olympic Peninsula overnight. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)

Vehicles inch their way down a snow-covered section of Front Street into downtown Port Angeles on Saturday morning after snow blanketed the North Olympic Peninsula overnight. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)

Snow blankets Peninsula; storm expected to turn slushy today

Snowfall depth varies greatly across Clallam, Jefferson counties

PORT ANGELES — The Olympic Peninsula found itself buried in a wintry snowstorm Friday night and Saturday morning with more snow expected into Saturday evening and again today.

The good news for motorists is the snow is forecast to transition into rain sometime Sunday night, according to U.S. National Weather Service (NWS) meteorologist Mary Butwin in Seattle. Butwin said a “wintry mix” of snow, sleet and then rain is forecast to hit the Olympic Peninsula in the afternoon or evening today.

Vehicles inch their way down a snow-covered section of Front Street into downtown Port Angeles on Saturday morning after snow blanketed the North Olympic Peninsula overnight. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)

Vehicles inch their way down a snow-covered section of Front Street into downtown Port Angeles on Saturday morning after snow blanketed the North Olympic Peninsula overnight. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)

Butwin said snowfall amounts will depend on location and elevation as the Olympic Peninsula has a lot of micro-climates.

“We expect mostly a dusting and a trace of snow [today],” Butwin said.

Butwin, who has a doctorate, said that Port Townsend, Forks and the Hood Canal were likely to receive about an additional 4 to 6 inches for the rest of Saturday while Port Angeles and the Sequim area were expected to receive an additional 2 to 3 inches. Snowfall totals from 7 a.m. Saturday were the latest available from the NWS.

U.S. Postal Service letter carrier Melinda McCoy makes her rounds on North Laurel Street in a snow-covered downtown Port Angeles on Saturday morning after several inches of snow blanketed the area Friday night and into Saturday. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)

U.S. Postal Service letter carrier Melinda McCoy makes her rounds on North Laurel Street in a snow-covered downtown Port Angeles on Saturday morning after several inches of snow blanketed the area Friday night and into Saturday. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)

She said snow is expected to taper off Saturday evening, but another storm is likely to bring more snow into the area Sunday. The NWS is forecasting less than an inch of accumulation throughout most of the North Olympic Peninsula on Sunday.

Snowfall as of Saturday morning varied from about 9 inches along the Hood Canal to ½ inch to 1 inch in the Sequim area.

According to the NWS, stations in Port Angeles measured between 1.5 to 3.3 inches of snow from Friday morning to 7 a.m. Saturday. Port Townsend measured 1.7 inches, Forks 2 inches and Hoodsport 8.2 inches.

Steve Card, owner of Wild Card Guitars, clears snow from the sidewalk in front of his business on North Oak Street in downtown Port Angeles on Saturday. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)

Steve Card, owner of Wild Card Guitars, clears snow from the sidewalk in front of his business on North Oak Street in downtown Port Angeles on Saturday. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)

The next snowfall totals from NWS will be this morning.

Strong winds with gusts up to 26 miles an hour hit in the afternoon, causing blowing snow. Clallam PUD reported some minor power outages Saturday with a handful of people losing power around Forks and Neah Bay. About 25 people total were without power, according to Clallam PUD’s outage map. Jefferson County had one small outage Saturday afternoon outside of Port Townsend affecting six customers.

Neighborhood residents reported 5 inches in the Mount Pleasant area and up Blue Mountain Road, 6½ inches in the Canyon Edge Drive area above Port Angeles High School and 3 inches at the Clallam County Fairgrounds around Lincoln Park.

While the official NWS number at the Forks station is 2 inches, District 1 Fire Chief Bill Paul said that about 5 to 6 inches of snow had accumulated in the Forks area by 9 a.m. Saturday.

The heaviest spot in Western Washington appeared to be Ocean Shores, which reported 12 inches of snowfall by Saturday morning, according to the NWS.

The Discovery Bay Fire Station was blanketed in about 2 inches of snow overnight Friday into Saturday. (Zach Jablonski/Peninsula Daily News)

The Discovery Bay Fire Station was blanketed in about 2 inches of snow overnight Friday into Saturday. (Zach Jablonski/Peninsula Daily News)

Much of the Seattle area appeared to get more of a dump than the lower Olympic Peninsula areas as snowfall totals between 7 to 10 inches were reported at various NWS stations.

Hurricane Ridge reported 4.3 inches of new snow Saturday morning.

“We got quite a bit of snow here,” Butwin said from the NWS office in Seattle. “Port Angeles and Port Townsend are pretty sheltered, and this storm came from the south.”

Butwin said later on Sunday, snow is expected to turn into rain in the lower elevations of the Peninsula, with rain forecast through to Tuesday morning.

Forest Laitman takes a Saturday afternoon ride on his snowboard past St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Uptown Port Townsend. (Diane Urbani de la Paz/Peninsula Daily News)

Forest Laitman takes a Saturday afternoon ride on his snowboard past St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Uptown Port Townsend. (Diane Urbani de la Paz/Peninsula Daily News)

“It should be in the mid-30s and 40s and typical Pacific Northwest rain … cool and rainy,” she said.

For people to see snowfall totals from NWS stations around the Olympic Peninsula, they can go online at www.tinyurl.com/2f3y7fq6. People can click on the interactive map to get more information about each station.

Uptown Port Townsend became a snowfield Saturday, providing wandering space for deer near the Fire Bell Tower at Washington and Tyler streets. Diane Urbani de la Paz/Peninsula Daily News

Uptown Port Townsend became a snowfield Saturday, providing wandering space for deer near the Fire Bell Tower at Washington and Tyler streets. Diane Urbani de la Paz/Peninsula Daily News

________

Sports Editor Pierre LaBossiere can be reached at labossiere@peninsuladailynews.com.

More in News

Port Angeles teachers’ union votes to honor paraeducators’ picket line on April 8

Members of the Port Angeles Education Association voted overwhelmingly… Continue reading

Funding needed for Port Townsend homeless shelter

Operation at Legion Hall to close April 30

Port of Port Angeles renews lease for Composite Recycling Technology Center

Agreement covers 26,000 square feet at airport business park

Fire district volunteers lauded

Clallam County Fire District No. 3 recently recognized seven members… Continue reading

Clallam to continue providing deputy to Forks

Contract includes wages, mileage and maintenance reimbursement

Maintenance closes section of Olympic Discovery Trail

A portion of the Olympic Discovery Trail is closed… Continue reading

Hanna Paoluccu of Alexander, N.Y., and Rosie Berg of Nevada City, Calif., members of the Hood Canal Salmon Enhancement Group and working with the Jefferson County Noxious Weed Board, remove poisonous hemlock weed from along the Larry Scott Trail in Port Townsend on Monday. (Steve Mullensky/for Peninsula Daily News)
Poison hemlock removal in Port Townsend

Hanna Paoluccu of Alexander, N.Y., and Rosie Berg of Nevada City, Calif.,… Continue reading

YMCA to build childcare facility

$1-2M still needed for $6.7M project

Port Townsend Police Department recognizes award recipients

The Port Townsend Police Department recognized officers, employees, volunteers… Continue reading

Port Angeles High School evacuated due to bomb threat

Nothing suspicious found, principal says

A tree that has grown out of its tree box and shattered a nearby curb and sidewalk in the 100 block of North Oak Street is among those targeted for removal and replacement in downtown Port Angeles. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)
Port Angeles tree and sidewalk replacement to begin Monday

The Port Angeles downtown tree and sidewalk replacement project… Continue reading

Grant for Forks treatment plant to be discussed

The Clallam County Opportunity Fund Advisory Board will discuss… Continue reading