Video: Weather dampens turnout at tulip festival

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SEATTLE - As predicted, a spring storm has brought snow to Western Washington, and not just up in the mountains.

KING 5 News meteorologist Jeff Renner said 10 inches of snow fell Friday night near the Snohomish County community of Clearview.  Seven inches fell in Mill Creek, and 6 1/2 inches north of Woodinville. Everett had 5 inches by morning and Silverlake had 4 inches of snow.

More showers and possibly some thunderstorms are expected tonight and into Sunday morning, and KING 5 meteorologist Chris Warren said we could see snow mixed in.

KING

Ten inches of snow fell overnight in the town of Clearwater in Snohomish County.

"It's very hit and miss, it's not a guarantee for anyone, but it is possible," he said.

A snow advisory is in effect until midnight for areas near the Straight of Juan de Fuca and Port Angeles, mainly away from the water. And the high hills east of Seattle could see trace accumulations.

Two to 4 inches of snow are expected tonight in the mountains, where traction tires were advised today, and another 1-2 inches is predicted for Sunday. But overall, conditions are good for motorists.

"Most of the roads are in really good shape today," said NWCN meteorologist Don Carson."You may have a few icy spots."

He said some overpasses and bridges could freeze overnight, with temperatures of about 33 degrees expected.

Today's temperatures hovered in the 30s and 40s. The daytime high was 45 degrees.

"We should be closer to 60 this time of year," Warren said.

Khoi Nguyen

KING 5 viewer Khoi Nguyen submitted this photo Saturday of a church crafted out of snow in Everett, Wash.

By Sunday afternoon, look for the sun to make an appearance. Rain showers are expected to dwindle by afternoon.

Snow causes power outage

Friday's wintry weather left some in the dark. The snow caused a power outage over sections of Snohomish County.

"Snow gets under the trees and weighs the trees down.  The branches break off or the tree justs bends over into the wires and what not," said Ken Bellemy of the Snohomish County PUD.

The PUD said at the height of the outage late Friday night, some 6,800 customers were without power.  As of 5 a.m. Saturday power had been restored to all but about 1,750 customers.

But no snow record

Because no measurable snow fell at Sea-Tac Friday, we didn't "officially" set a new record for the latest snowfall in spring.

Yet many Western Washington residents saw snow.

Friday afternoon and evening, wet snow fell in the north Puget Sound region. Mill Creek got 6 inches of snow, both Monroe and Everett 5 inches.

In addition to snow, lightning strikes were also observed.

"After this kind of crazy spring, once we do get some summer weather, we'll have definitely earned it," Renner said.

Many Western Washington residents were surprised by the cold snap. When the weather turned for the worse, Joe Kinnikin took an unexpected trip to the store.

"We're buying firewood because we thought we had all of our firewood squared away for the rest of the year, now we get hit with this, so yeah, the house is a little cool right now," he said.

In Skagit County, tulip blooms are expected to extend to Mother's Day.

The owners of Roozengaarde Farms say this is believed to be the latest tulip bloom in the farm's history. The weather has hurt the attendance, and hurt profits.

"I've never seen anything like this," said Cindy Verge, a spokesperson for the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival.

Portland area could also see snow

Northwest Oregon and southwest Washington will also be in the deep freeze this weekend. The sharpest drops in temperatures will occur Friday night into Saturday.

KING

KING5.com viewer Chuck Lee submitted this photo of the snow in Kendall near Maple Falls, Wash.

"The snow level will be between 500 and 1,000 feet Friday and Saturday,” said KGW Meteorologist Dave Salesky.

Salesky predicted showers will persist into Sunday, with hail and occasional snow.

The cold air could result in some near-record morning low temperatures. The coldest mornings will likely be Sunday and Monday.