Heavy Snow — Seattle Metropolitan Area, Washington

1996-12-26 · Seattle Metropolitan Area, Washington

Wider weather episode

Heavy snow fell over much of the Seattle-Everett metro area. Some of the snow in the south parts mixed with sleet. By afternoon up to 6 inches had fallen in Snohomish and by 10 pm Edmonds accumulated 10 inches. Seatac airport cancelled almost 400 flights and there were 1000's of people stranded at the airport. There were about 250 buses stuck with only 30% service. Almost every hotel from Seatac to Tacoma was full. Arthur McKaig, of Belfair, died when a tree branch fell on top of him. There were many traffic accidents, one with a fatality that was not directly caused by the snow.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5577217. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.