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Wednesday, 24 December 2008 |
National Weather Service calls for seven to 10 inches of
snow in Colville and outlying areas starting Christmas Eve
BY SOPHIA ALDOUS
S-E Staff Reporter
An extremely white Christ¬mas is in store for the Colville Valley and surrounding areas.
According to the National Weather Service, the region is expected to receive another seven to 10 inches of snowfall starting Wednesday and going until midday, Thursday, Dec. 25.
“That area will probably see a break in the snow Thursday evening and into Friday morning,” said Meteorologist John Livingston. “Then it should start up again Friday afternoon and continue with light flurries into the weekend.”
So far, the Colville Valley has accumulated 21.3 inches of snow for the season, starting with three inches of snow in November. Livingston said this includes the five to six inches of snow garnered since Monday morning.
“People who are out on the roads should slow down and give themselves lots of time to get where they need to go,” advised Livingston. “If you are going somewhere for Christmas and it’s a long journey, you might want to rethink your travel plans. If you absolutely have to go, be prepared to stay where you are going.”
The increased snow pack, though preferable for spring run-off, has caused some annoyances for Colville residents in the form of frozen pipes and other inconveniences. In the case of June and Clarence Hubbard, who live on Oak Street, the heavy snowfall caused the makeshift plastic roofing over their outdoor swimming pool to come crashing down last Thursday.
City Street Superin¬tendent asks for pa¬tience from motorists
“I was in our kitchen and my husband was out in his shop,” Mrs. Hubbard recalled of the incident. “Suddenly, I heard this huge crash and I immediately went to get Clarence. I thought maybe something had crashed into the house, it was so loud.”
For the employees of the Colville Street Department, the constant snow has meant continuing shifts as the city’s four plow trucks and loader work to keep city streets as clear as possible.
“We’re packing it away as quick as we can, but we’ve been going at it non-stop,” said Colville Street Superin¬tendent Terry LeCaire. “We’ve got four guys on four plow routes with a shift that goes from 6 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and another from 2:30 to 11 p.m. Despite our efforts though, we’re getting behind. There has just barely been any breaks in this.”
LeCaire estimated that crews have used 400 yards of sand so far this year on city routes, but as long as the snow continues to fall, it’s useless to continually sand streets, since the snow will just cover it.
“There’s around 40 miles of city street to plow, but then you have to factor in that we also have to make two to three passes each way to keep them clear,” explained LeCaire. “We just ask that people please be patient with us, and please don’t shovel your driveways out into the street.”
As far as the temperature goes, the Colville area broke its own record for last Sun¬day, Dec. 21 with a tempera¬ture of minus 22 degrees. The former record for that date was minus 14 degrees in 1983.
The coldest day on record for the Colville Valley is minus 33 degrees on Dec. 30, 1968 during a three-day cold spell due to an artic air mass that swept through the region.
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 31 December 2008 )
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