We Survived Snowmageddon
Snowmageddon is the nickname given by the locals that refers to the crazy snow storm that hit Kitsap County and all of Western Washington this month! It started out as a joke as most of us thought the news was being a little ridiculous with their snow prediction! This part of Western WA only gets snow a few times per year. It is maybe 1-2 inches and only sticks around for a day or so. Soon enough we would find out just how real snowmageddon was! Biggest snowstorm to hit Kitsap County in 100 years. Bremerton got a total of 21 inches during snowmageddon.
We got our first snowfall on Sunday Feb 3rd and were greeted with a winter wonderland when we got off the ferry in Port Townsend. We had spent the day on Whidbey Island hiking with some friends from MN. It was some rough water on the ferry crossing and pretty neat being out on the water while it was snowing! The above picture is what our neighborhood looked like Sunday night when we got home. It continued to snow that night and a lot of businesses and schools had late starts on Monday morning. Freya was really digging the snow!
The rest of the week was fine but with more snow in the forecast for Friday, people were starting to panic! You would think the world was ending with how people were preparing! Grocery store shelves were empty, and there was not a snow shovel to be found by Thursday night! Every store was sold out of eggs, milk and bottled water. Sam and I kind of chuckled as we watched people preparing for this snow storm. This is typical weather we are used to being born and raised Minnesotans. If this same snowstorm had hit back home it would be no big deal. WA is not prepared for this kind of snow at all! Kitsap County (roughly 270,000 people) only has 36 snow plows! And these are nothing like the snowplows we are used to. With so few plows, only the main roads are a priority to plow. Our neighborhood never got plowed, making it incredibly difficult to get out of our own driveway! We don’t even own a snow shovel because snow is so rare here, we were literally snowed in by the end of the weekend! The hills + not plowed roads = extreme danger. The roads are crazy enough here when there isn’t snow! The snow started again Friday afternoon. I was able to leave work early before it got bad. We wasted no time getting out to play!
Saturday morning we woke up to about 8 inches of snow! Living on a hill is actually pretty awesome during a snow storm. You can just walk out your front door and go sledding! It was cool having our neighbors come out and join us for some sledding down the street! We were the first ones out there Saturday morning. It was fun to be making the first sled tracks!
Sunday came and we were definitely still snowed in! Lost track of how much snow we had at this point. We spent Sunday going back and forth between playing outside and cuddling on the couch! Most of our neighbors on our street were doing the same. Neighborhood kids made some legit snow cones. Odin and Aspen had a lot of fun with that.
Monday rolled around and we were getting more snow dumped on us! Road conditions were terrible and it was a no travel advisory. At some point during all this the Mayor declared it a state of emergency and warned people not to be out on the roads unless it was absolutely necessary! We ended up losing power Monday night and it didn’t come back on until Tuesday. Others were without power for much longer so we were lucky! We could hear tree branches breaking off due to the weight of the snow which was a big cause of the power outages! Scary stuff. We are very happy no branches fell on our house or into our yard. Thankfully, the clinic I work at closed down Monday and Tuesday so I had not one, but TWO ADULT SNOW DAYS! I was more than happy to be home with Sam and the kids enjoying this epic snow storm! So what else do you do on a snow day besides build snow forts, snowmen, go sledding and gang up on dad in a snowball fight!? Not sure who was having more fun- Sam and I or the kids! Being an adult can be so stressful. I love the moments when I can just act like a kid again with no cares. It is good for the soul to have those moments every now and again.
Although we had a blast playing in the snow and experiencing this crazy event, we are so happy to see the snow melting! Being snowed in for 5 days got old after a while! I enjoyed the unplugged time with Sam and the kids but I am glad we are able to safely leave the house again!
Like Father, Like Son!
Never thought we would be experiencing 21 inches of snow here. Really happy we kept our snow gear and that I got stuff for the kids a few months ago. We were so over the harsh winters in MN toward the end of our time there. That is one reason why we wanted to move. HAHA. Joke is on us! But really the snow was so pretty! It was so enjoyable to be outside with not super cold temperatures. It was beautiful to be outside watching it snow and watching both kids and adults having fun! I forgot how peaceful fresh snow can be in the early morning hours. Freya sure enjoyed all the snow in our backyard and Odin even made his own sledding hill back there. The picture of my flower pot does a great job of showing just how much snow piled up!
So thankful that our family stayed safe during this storm and that we got to enjoy some unexpected time together!
On to the next Adventure…