PORT TOWNSEND — The first blast of snowy weather of the year on the North Olympic Peninsula refused to go quietly.
From Port Townsend west to at least Joyce, fresh snow showers blanketed sidewalks and driveways recently cleared of the white stuff Thursday, which was predicted to be cold but calm.
Gov. Chris Gregoire declared a statewide state of emergency after Seattle and many areas in the southwestern part of the state suffered ice storms.
After two days of solid snow, the Port Townsend population settled into a winter groove, with many businesses shuttered, schools closed — every district on the Peninsula canceled classes except for Crescent School District in Joyce, which had a two-hour delay — and traffic slight.
“There isn’t a whole lot going on” said East Jefferson Fire-Rescue spokesman Bill Beezley.
“We’ve had a few slips and falls, but mostly people are doing the right thing and staying home.”
Port Townsend Police Department Sgt. Ed Green said staying home is a good strategy and should continue.
“Everything has slowed down. People don’t want to go out in this stuff,” he said.
“There haven’t been any accidents that I am aware of, but that could change when it starts raining,” Green said.
“It could freeze and turn into ice, and traction will decrease.”
Snowfall totals
The snow that fell Thursday was in smaller quantities than Wednesday, when both Brinnon and Chimacum reported 5 inches of new snow to the Community Collaborative Rain, Snow and Hail Network.
The network reported 1 inch of new snow in Port Townsend and Chimacum, along with 1.7 inches in Brinnon and 1.3 inches in Port Ludlow.
In Clallam County, new snowfall, expected to range between 1 to 3 inches by the end of the day, was concentrated in East Clallam County on Thursday morning, with some freezing rain in Forks.
“It’s slicker than the dickens,” Forks Mayor Bryon Monohon said Thursday morning.
“We got the streets sanded. I think right now, all we can do is see what happens when the rain comes in.”
The unexpected snowfall, which followed two storms earlier in the week, was caused once again by cold air from the Fraser River Valley in British Columbia slamming into a low-pressure system centered over Southwest Washington, said Jeff Michalski, National Weather Service meteorologist.
“We had only a 20 percent chance [of snow Thursday],” he said.
“We’ll have to increase that.”
Possibility of flooding
Port Townsend Operations Manager John Merchant isn’t worried about freezing rain since he expects the weather to warm up enough for the roads to stay clear, but he hopes “that it doesn’t warm up too fast because that could cause flooding.”
Merchant said anyone who notices a stopped-up or flooded drain should phone the city at 360-379-5096.
Merchant said city plows had cleared most of the arterial streets, and people who need to get around town will have no trouble as long as they drive carefully.
Jefferson County Engineer Monte Reinders said the county is continuing to plow 18 hours a day and was managing to keep roads clear.
He said traffic has been sparse and that he was “not aware of any collision issues.”
The State Patrol reported no major wrecks in either Jefferson or Clallam counties.
Puget Sound Energy spokesman Roger Thompson said on Thursday afternoon that no power outages had been reported in Jefferson County “which is quite unlike the situation in other parts of our service area where we have 225,000 customers without power.”
Port Townsend garbage service will be canceled until at least Saturday, city officials said.
The Port Townsend Winter Shelter in the basement of the American Legion Hall at 209 Monroe St., which usually closes between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m., has stayed open around the clock all week.
It will continue to maintain those hours until the weather clears up, said Les Rubin, chief financial officer for Olympic Community Action Programs.
“We want to make sure that people have a safe place to go,” he said.
Shelter demand has increased dramatically since last year. From November 2010 to March 2011, it had 80 unique visitors. This year, it has accrued 80 visitors in 45 days.
Attendance this week peaked with 38 on Tuesday night and 34 on Wednesday night.
Some stores open
Some downtown stores and restaurants were open but had few customers.
Quimper Sound owner Mark Hering had been closed for two days but opened Thursday morning because he had to complete some paperwork and wanted to see if anyone would come in to shop.
The Undertown was open at its regular 8 a.m. time and was expected to stay open Thursday evening for a concert by Simon Lynge.
The Alchemy Bar and Grill was also open and expected to do good business, bartender John Stafford said.
“We did well during the last couple of days because we were open when everyone else was closed,” he said.
“I think we will do OK today because a lot of people are feeling cooped up and want to get out.”
Julie McHugh, a barista at Better Living Through Coffee, had a contradictory position.
“We were pretty busy yesterday, but it has been slower today,” she said.
“People have adjusted to the idea of staying inside, so they are less inclined to go out.”
Storm information is available from a variety of sources in East Jefferson County.
Bob Hamlin, emergency program manager for the Jefferson County Department of Emergency Management, said the agency will provide regular storm updates at www.jeffcoeoc.org and on a blog, www.emergency-information.blogspot.com.
Updated information also is available from local radio stations KPTZ 91.9 FM and KROH 91.1 FM, Hamlin said.
For state highway road conditions, phone 360-452-3394 or visit www.wsdot.com.
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
