Overnight snow leads to delayed school start times across Washington
Mar 5, 2024, 7:40 AM
A school bus talking alternate routes after overnight snow. (Photo courtesy of WayneSeries via Flickr)
(Photo courtesy of WayneSeries via Flickr)
Multiple school districts throughout the state have delayed their start times due to overnight snow, with even more districts using alternate routes due to slick conditions on roads.
The Kent School District announced that it’s zero period is canceled and classes are expected to start two hours later. Tahoma, Issaquah, Mary M. Knight, North Beach, Lake Quinault and Port Angeles school districts, among others, are all facing delayed starts of approximately two hours. To see all school delays and closures in Wash., click here.
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Other school districts, including Chehalis, Onalaska, Morton and Toledo, have regularly scheduled start times but are using alternate transportation routes due to snow.
Snow reportedly fell in Tukwila, according to the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), while other locations including Mount Vernon and Arlington reported a coating of snow last night.
“We’re off to a chilly start with temps in the upper 20s to lower 30s,” KIRO 7 Meteorologist Nick Allard said. “Skies continue to clear, but we still have a few sprinkles or possibly some flurries in the far South Sound. The moisture will end soon and it will be a mostly dry day. However, we could still see a few stray sprinkles here and there.”
Allard also stated that subsequent fog will be a factor for morning commutes. Visibility is expected to decrease as fog piles up throughout the morning.
As for the rest of the week, it is expected to be more dry Wednesday and Thursday, despite overnight and morning temperatures dropping below freezing.
“We should see at least partly cloudy skies (Wednesday), but again a passing shower could move through,” Allard stated. “We’ll warm a bit more on Thursday with mostly sunny skies with increasing clouds late in the day.”
By Friday, rain is expected to return, starting along the coast and moving inland. The rain is expected to last through the weekend, but higher temperatures in the upper 40s and lower 50s are expected through that stretch as well.
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Out of all the months the Puget Sound region receives snow (November-March), March averages the least amount of snow at just 0.2 inches per year, according to Best Places. After March, the region reaches a seven-month stretch where snow is seldom recorded. For the year, Seattle averages 4.6 inches of snow, with almost half coming in December.
The latest recorded snowfall in Seattle was April 19, but that occurred 97 years ago.
Contributing: KIRO 7
Frank Sumrall is a content editor at MyNorthwest. You can read his stories here and you can email him here.
