Skiers cheer 'banner year' for snowfall

Wednesday, February 4, 2004

By DEBERA CARLTON HARRELL
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

For sea-level Puget Sounders, the past week's rain has been a pain, prompting flooding, freeway accidents and cabin fever.

But all that precipitation has meant big snow in the mountains, with more in the forecast. As winter hits the halfway mark, skiers and snowboarders are cheering -- and the city's water supply is in great shape, utility officials say.

"We're having a banner year. People are telling us this is the best skiing they've ever seen," said Tiana Enger, spokeswoman for Crystal Mountain ski area, where it snowed most of the day Monday. In the past five days -- including Thursday's deluge -- the ski area outside Enumclaw has seen 38 inches of snow, Enger said, for a total 119 inches of snowpack. Crystal has sold more than double the number of tickets -- about 100,000 -- over this time last year, when snow accumulation was low.

Officials at Stevens Pass, with 101 inches of base snow, and at Snoqualmie Summit, with 87 inches at Summit West's base, are delighted given last year's bummer season.

"Last year, the snow arrived late and the perception was that skiing wasn't good," said Alison Jeffries, a spokeswoman for Stevens. "This year, we're not having that problem at all."

Jon Pretty, spokesman for Snoqualmie Summit, said with February and March -- and possibly even early April -- ahead, it's too early to tell whether the Summit will set any records.

Mother Nature has done Seattle water consumers a favor, although officials with Seattle Public Utilities warn against complacency. Water conservation the past few years has helped avoid declaring water-use emergencies, officials said.

Still, the weather of the past five days has "eliminated all concern regarding the lack of water," said Daniel Basketfield, senior water resources engineer for Seattle Public Utilities, of enhanced water storage in the Tolt and Cedar river basins.

Because snowpack so far is back to a February average, "the water supply outlook is very positive," Basketfield said.

Road closures in King County because of flooding, mostly from the Snoqualmie River, and storm-related drainage problems mostly had been cleared up by Monday, said Rochelle Ogershok, a county spokeswoman.

Avalanche danger will continue for the next couple days, at least above 5,000 feet, meteorologists say.

WHAT'S IN STORE

Rain, with possible sun breaks, is in the forecast for the next couple days in the Puget Sound area, say meteorologists at the National Weather Service.

In the mountains above about 2,500 feet, the precipitation means snow, they say.

Last Thursday's rainfall -- 1.63 inches, as measured at Sea-Tac -- was a record for Jan. 29, meteorologists said. The previous record was 0.91 inches in 1965. But it paled by comparison for the all-time record for the wettest 24-hour period at Sea-Tac: 5 inches on Oct. 20, 2003.

P-I reporter Debera Carlton Harrell can be reached at 206-448-8326 or deberaharrell@seattlepi.com

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