Olympia sees 11 inches of snow; south hit harder

With the worst of the winter storm over, official snow totals are rolling in from the National Weather Service, showing 11 inches at the Olympia airport since Tuesday morning and significantly more to the south.

Lacey is reporting 13 inches and 12 inches were measured in Tumwater and Yelm. Much higher amounts have also been reported by readers. Jay Shepard, who lives in the aptly-named Alpine Hills subdivision near Black Lake, measured a total of about 30 inches outside his home on North Hill Loop S.W. That includes earlier snowfall in recent days.

Snow totals in Lewis County were among the highest in the lowlands, with Chehalis measuring 17 inches in a 24-hour period.

Olympia appears to be a little shy of its all-time 24-hour snow record, which is 14.2 inches, recorded in January 1972.

The snow is letting up now, but what has fallen is not going away soon, said Dennis D'Amico, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Seattle. A mix of rain and snow is predicted for Thursday before it changes to all-rain in the afternoon.

"It’s possible that you could see another half-inch or something like that before turning to rain tomorrow afternoon," he said. "It’s not going to be enough rain to melt away."

To make matters worse, what is out there tonight will freeze hard, with a predicted low in the upper 20s.

From Friday onward, it looks like plain old rain, with temperatures in the 40s.

Intercity Transit buses are up and running with tire chains, said said spokeswoman Meg Kester. Sixteen of 24 Intercity Transit routes are running on severe weather operation, which means that buses 42, 43 and 44 serving the west side are cancelled, Kester said. Thirteen routes are on detour or limited service.

Shuttles are operating between Capital Mall, South Puget Sound Community College and the Thurston County Courthouse and between Martin and Marvin roads and The Meadows in Lacey.

Puget Sound Energy reported no significant power outages in Thurston County this morning. The snow has been lightweight enough not to cause problems, said Dorothy Bracken, a spokeswoman for the utility. There have been occasional outages when tree branches fall on power lines, but power is restored when they are removed.

"We continue to monitor the weather," she said. "The crews are out in full force."

See details at www.intercitytransit.com.

The city of Olympia passes on this update:

• Most city hills are closed, including Lakeridge Drive (Courthouse) hill and Raft Street Hill. State and Fourth Avenue as well as Harrison Avenue are open.

• Road crews are focusing on the main roads and hills used by police, fire and transit.

"Crews will not be able to work on any secondary or neighborhood collector roads until after the snow stops and lifeline roads are passable," according to a news release.

• Olympia has five dump trucks with snow plows covering the city.

• To report fallen limbs or trees, call Public Works Dispatch at 360-753-8333.

• Property owners are responsible for clearing driveways and sidewalks next to their property.