Snow and cold in Seattle cause online school, power outages, and icy roads
For those who wanted something different from dry January, February is so far living up to its wintery billing.
RELATED: Sleetless in Seattle: City gets little rain and no snow this dry January
Another round of snow and frigid temperatures hit Western Washington Wednesday night, causing power outages, school closures, and traffic headaches in the region.
Plows were out all morning in Seattle and King County, clearing arterial roads for drivers. Here is a live map from the Seattle Department of Transportation showing what's been plowed so far.
Puget Sound Energy reported 91 active outages affecting more than 9,000 customers, with the majority of those outages in Bothell, Bainbridge Island, and Port Orchard.
Sea-Tac International Airport reported 70 total flight delays so far on Thursday, with 16 cancelations. Yesterday, Sea-Tac reported almost 300 delays and 28 cancellations.
The airport went into a short temporary ground stop Wednesday after a taxiing Japan Airlines plane struck the tail of a parked Delta jet that was loaded with passengers and waiting to take off. No one was injured in that incident.
RELATED: Japan Airlines plane clips another plane at Sea-Tac Airport
“Operations are normal right now,” said Kassie McKnight-Xi, aviation communications and marketing program manager for the Port of Seattle. “We were still operating yesterday during that incident.”
Meanwhile, Seattle Public Schools went to remote instruction Thursday "due to snow and hazardous road conditions,” according to a post on X from the school district.
Conditions are expected to improve through the day Thursday, but nighttime lows will remain below freezing for the next week, according to the National Weather Service in Seattle. Additional snow is expected Friday night and into Saturday morning, although daytime highs for the next week will be in the mid- to upper-30s.
