A big chill: Sequim sees snowfall, feels frigid weather

From wind to snow to cold, Sequim saw winter arrive quickly in recent days.

Temperatures dipped into or near single digits on Friday, Jan. 12, after Thursday’s snowfall brought in 4-6 inches depending on elevation in the Sequim-Dungeness area.

Many schools and municipal buildings closed on Friday, including Sequim School District and the City of Sequim’s Civic Center, due to the inclement weather.

Temperatures weren’t anticipated to rise above freezing until Jan. 15, with rain in the forecast for later in the week.

According to the Peninsula Daily News, the cold winds came from a weather phenomenon known as a Fraser River outflow that pushed cold air from British Columbia into Western Washington, causing temperatures to drop significantly.

Crews from the City of Sequim’s public works department continued to clear the city’s 54 miles of roads and alleyways through the long weekend for Martin Luther King Jr. Day while placing the liquid de-icing agent magnesium chloride on main arterials and overpasses.

Joe Donisi, Clallam County assistant engineer, told the PDN that road crews worked about 12 hours on Thursday, Jan. 11, sanding and plowing in the Sequim and Port Angeles areas, and started again at 6 a.m. the following day.

At the Co-Op Farm and Garden on Friday, assistant manager Dave Kunze estimated the store had sold through more than half their supply of de-icer and snow shovels just two days after receiving their shipment, but staff anticipated a full restock the following day.

Ken Bearly, store manager of Coastal Farm and Ranch, said he credits Clallam County’s Emergency Management team and local agencies for alerting people to the incoming cold weather. Customers were more proactive compared to recent years buying their winter gear in advance of the storm, he said, and allowed the store’s warehouse to restock them sooner.

“It’s been a nice change this year,” Bearly said.

Traffic problems

As people traveled the afternoon of Jan. 11 with snow falling and rapidly declining temperatures, Sequim Police Department leaders estimate that as many as 30 vehicles were stuck in ditches or on the sides of roads in city limits.

Detective Sgt. Darrell Nelson said that drivers were able to drive away or be towed out.

On the cusp of city limits along U.S. Highway 101 and Palo Alto Road, four vehicles were involved in a collision around 4:30 p.m. that closed the highway eastbound for about 15 minutes so that Olympic Ambulance could transport one patient with non-life threatening injuries to Jefferson Healthcare, according to Elliott Jones, Battalion Chief with Clallam County Fire District 3.

A collision on U.S. Highway 101 around 7:22 p.m. Thursday caused eastbound lanes to briefly close near Morse Creek that Jones said resulted in the fire district diverting medical transports to Port Townsend instead of Port Angeles’ Olympic Medical Center.

The Washington State Patrol reported 34 collisions between 3-11 p.m. on Thursday, and Peninsula Communications reported that the 9-1-1 center received 23 vehicle collision reports between noon Thursday and noon Friday.

One of the sizable incidents was a collision in a westbound lane of U.S. Highway 101 near Kitchen-Dick Road around 5 p.m. Thursday that initially was reported to involve 10 vehicles, but State Patrol clarified that three vehicles collided while others went into the ditch.

Jones said there were no reported injuries.

Another incident involved a vehicle hitting a tree going southbound on Taylor Cut-Off Road around 8 p.m. Thursday, but there were no reported injuries, Jones said.

Battalion Chief Chris Turner said that the fire district responded to eight vehicle incidents on Thursday and Friday and another on the 7000 block of Old Olympic Highway around 12:57 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 14, where a vehicle flipped into a ditch. No other people were transported for injuries, battalion chiefs reported.

In the city, Nelson said there were minimal to no incidents reported after the initial snowfall. Two stop signs were hit on Thursday, he said, but added that incidents were greatly reduced because city crews being proactive in clearing and treating streets.

Cold pipes

On Sunday, battalion chiefs reported sprinkler pipes burst due to the cold weather inside three Sequim businesses: inside an office at Dungeness Courte Memory Care, 651 Garry Oak Drive; an office at Suncrest Senior Apartments on East Prairie Street, and Sunny Farms Country Store’s warehouse, 261461 U.S. Highway 101.

Editor’s note: the previous story incorrectly identified Suncrest Village, 251 S. Fifth Ave., as having a sprinkler issue.

Battalion chief Stef Anderson said no one was injured and no residents were displaced at Dungeness Courte and Suncrest Village. The facilities remained on fire watch while repairs were prepared, she said.

Sequim Gazette photos by Matthew Nash Above: A few stop signs were struck during the snowfall on Thursday, Jan. 11, including at the corner of Hemlock Street and Seventh Avenue.

Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash/ A field is covered in snow by the grain elevator.

Sequim Gazette photos by Matthew Nash Above: A few stop signs were struck during the snowfall on Thursday, Jan. 11, including at the corner of Hemlock Street and Seventh Avenue.

Right: Israel Najera of Sequim purchases a snow shovel and window scraper from Coastal Farm and Ranch cashier Darlene Nixon on Jan. 12. Najera estimated he had about 6 inches of snow at his home and needed tools to help remove it all.

Photo courtesy of Laura Dunham/ Snow covers the sidewalk and seating area outside Hurricane Coffee on Thursday night.

Sequim Gazette photo by Michael Dashiell / Dale Jung clears the Sequim School District stadium parking lot on jan 12, following a snowfall last week.

Sequim Gazette photo by Michael Dashiell/ Snow partially covers the readerboard outside the Clallam County Fire District 3 station on north Fifth Avenue. Friday, Jan. 12, marked the one-year anniversary of the passing of Capt. Charles (“Chad”) Cate, who died while on duty.

Photo courtesy of Karen Parker Snow blankets the Dungeness Spit on Friday, Jan. 12.

Photo by Caron Garliepp Randy Garliepp braves the 17-degree chill to clear his driveway near Blyn on Friday, Jan. 12. Caron Garliepp reports they got about 5 inches of snowfall.

Photo by Della LaCour / Della LaCour labels this photo “Table for Two” after the Dungeness area got about 4 inches of snowfall this week.

Photo by Robyn Bacchus / 10-year-old Roman and Lucy, a 3-year-old German shepherd, try to help clear snow from the family vehicle on Jan. 12.

Photo by Emily Coler / Nearly-7-year-old Paisley works on her snow angel on Friday, Jan. 12.

Photo by Lori Wassenaar / Only a select few can enjoy temperatures like these…

Photo by Andra Tashjian/ Andra Tashjian snaps this photo of recent snowfall that covers Diamond Point.

Photo by Janet Lenfant/ As snow covers its base, this sign encourages people to “relax.”

Photo by Kristy Bowman/ Kristy Bowman snaps a picture of her snow angel after Sequim’s recent snowfall.

Photo courtesy Clallam County Fire District 3/ Battalion Chief Chris Turner with Clallam County Fire District 3 reports firefighters/medics with the district responded to eight vehicle incidents on Thursday and Friday and another, pictured, on the 7000 block of Old Olympic Highway around 12:57 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 14 where the vehicle flipped into a ditch due to the weather. No one was transported to the hospital from the incident, Turner said.

Photo by Keith Thorpe/Olympic Peninsula News Group / Cameron Torres, 8, left, and his brother, Steven Torres, 9, slide their way down a frozen alley behind their home near 11th and C streets in Port Angeles on Jan. 13. The youngsters braved temperatures in the 20s and wind chills in the teens in pursuit of some gravity-assisted entertainment.

Photo by Keith Thorpe/Olympic Peninsula News Group / Madrona Villella, 7, of Port Angeles looks out from a pretend storefront lined with snowballs at the children’s playground at Shane Park on Jan. 12 in Port Angeles. The youngster braved single-digit wind chills for a chance at a snow day in the park.

Photo by Keith Thorpe/Olympic Peninsula News Group / Darryl Wood of Port Angeles makes his way down icy steps at Bethany Pentecostal Church in Port Angeles after shoveling snow and spreading an ice-melting agent on Jan. 12.