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June snow in the Cascades
03:33 PM PDT on Tuesday, June 10, 2008
SEATTLE – Summer is only 11 days away and winter seems to refuse to go.
The National Weather Service has a snow warning in effect for the Washington Cascades and the mountains in northeast Washington. Forecasters expect 5 to 10 inches of wet snow above the 3,500-foot level Tuesday morning in the Cascades with lesser amounts down to 2,500. About a foot of snow is expected to fall in the Olympic mountains.
It was snowing on Snoqualmie Pass early Tuesday with slush on the roadway. The state Transportation Department advises traction tires and oversize vehicles prohibited. Some drivers were running into problems.
"Well, I thought I was going to get to sleep all night," said Dennis Todd, tow truck driver, "but we did have one person spun out. He was chained and everything. I couldn't believe it - not for this time of year."
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"Coming up the pass, it was kind of nerve-wracking," said Mitch Dejarant, driver.
Snoqualmie Pass got 49 feet of snow this season, nearly breaking a record. And in mid-June, snow is still falling.
High winds Monday night knocked out power to some tens of thousands of people scattered around Seattle, North Bend, Kitsap County South King County and the Olympia area. Seattle City Light crews restored power to 17,000 customers around 6 a.m. Tuesday, and other utility companies were working to restore power to remaining residents without electricity.
The first week of June 2008 was the coldest in Seattle since 1894. But the wacky weather should let up soon. Forecasters say the cold low-pressure system is moving east and high pressure should bring temperatures back to near-normal 60s by Thursday in Washington.
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Winds tore apart a temporary floor at Husky Stadium that was laid down for graduation ceremonies this weekend.
The temperature made it up to only 55 on Monday at Sea-Tac Airport. The National Weather Service says that was a record low-maximum. The old record was 55, set just last year. Other record low-maximums Monday were 54 at Hoquiam and 54 at Bellingham.
After snow fell overnight Monday on Snoqualmie and Stevens passes, Washington Transportation Department snowplows worked to clear slush off the roadways. One spokesman, Jeff Adamson, says it's been about 30 years since a snow plow had to clear Stevens Pass in June.
"I think it's kind crazy because there's still lots of snow up here. When is it going away?" asked Yakima resident Kathy Sanders.
If it wasn't snow, it was wind that hit many residents. Several people across Western Washington are cleaning up after a strong windstorm whipped through Monday night. Winds up to 45 miles per hour sent debris flying outside a Denny's restaurant in Arlington, and on the Sammamish plateau, a falling tree just missed landing on a home.
"It just missed the house within inches literally. And it missed my car within inches too," said Allison Bartholomew, homeowner. "I was really fortunate."
Several streets in Burien were also closed after scaffolding at a construction site started falling.
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