POSTED: Sunday, Mar. 30, 2008
Snow flurries sweep county
Tipped semi closes ramp near Blaine
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closeDespite the old adage, the month of March seems to be intent on going out like a lion rather than like a lamb.
As much as 3 inches of wet snow fell Saturday morning on the higher hills of Whatcom County before warming temperatures and rain turned it to slush in the afternoon.
Residents in the Sudden Valley and Geneva areas and motorists on Meridian Street between Interstate 5 and the Bellingham city limits reported several inches, while low-lying areas in other parts of Bellingham and Ferndale received up to an inch.
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FORECAST
TODAY: Rain showers after 11 a.m. Partly sunny, with a high near 46.
TONIGHT: Partly cloudy, with a low around 30.
MONDAY: Mostly sunny, with a high near 46.
MONDAY NIGHT: Partly cloudy with a low near 29.
TUESDAY: Mostly sunny, with a high near 52.
SOURCE: National Weather Service
The Washington State Patrol responded to 11 weather-related traffic accidents, mostly on I-5 and Mount Baker Highway, trooper Kirk Rudeen said.
Most of the accidents were noninjury fender benders, though a semi-truck driver was treated for minor injuries after tipping his rig near the Pacific Highway truck crossing onramp to southbound I-5 near Blaine just before 7 a.m.
The on-ramp was closed all morning while Washington State Department of Transportation crews worked to get the truck and trailer right side up.
Bellingham Public Works department had two sand trucks out all morning after reports of Whatcom Transportation Authority buses getting stuck in the slushy snow, said Keith Fredrikson, Post Point plant operator. Snowplows were also out on I-5 in Bellingham. Most of the city’s roadways were clear by about 1 p.m.
National Weather Service meteorologist Dennis D’Amico said minor spring snows aren’t that uncommon.
“The question everyone has been asking is whether this is the latest we’ve ever had snow (in Western Washington),” D’Amico said. “The answer is no. We’ve had an inch on the ground at Sea-Tac (International Airport) as late as April 17.”
The forecast calls for slightly warmer temperatures and partly cloudy skies today into Monday, though isolated showers are possible. Depending on when and where those showers develop, they could fall as a rain-snow mix or as hail.
“It’s all part of this prolonged cold punch we’ve had,” D’Amico said.
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