Contact:
Kent Patton
Communications Director
Kent.Patton@snoco.org
425-388-3883

Snohomish County Will Close Administration Buildings to Public at 3:00 p.m.

EVERETT, Wash., February 8, 2019 – Due to the snow storm, Snohomish County will close administration buildings to the public at 3:00 p.m. today. However, the Snohomish County Courthouse will be open until 5:00 p.m.

Yesterday, Snohomish County Executive Dave Somers declared an emergency in order to give the county maximum flexibility to respond to the storm. The county’s Emergency Coordination Center will be activated later today.

At least one, probably two, storms bringing heavy snowfall, sub-freezing temperatures and winds gusting up to 45 mph are expected. Snow is forecast to begin sticking on roads by Friday afternoon and another round of harsh weather is expected early next week.

With so many Snohomish County homes heated by electricity, power outages are a major concern, particularly with the forecasts calling for both heavy snows and wind that could put trees into power lines.

The Snohomish County PUD asks that outages be reported to 425-783-1001 or outagemap.snopud.com.

Snohomish County Road Maintenance crews will be fully staffed around the clock as the storms arrive, with crews working 12-hour shifts plowing and applying sand. Up to 40 plows are scheduled to be working on unincorporated roads at any given time.

Even so, county officials are hopeful that people will decide to park their cars and stay home this weekend. That not only helps keep the roads clear for crews driving sanding trucks and plows, it also makes it easier for emergency responders to reach people who need immediate help.

Resources:

Snohomish County Snow and Ice Response: https://www.snohomishcountywa.gov/Snow

Road closure: http://www.snoco.org/App4/SPW/PWApp/roads/emclosure/index.html

Priority routes: http://www.snoco.org/App4/SPW/PublicWorks/RoadMaint/snowIcePlanRouteMap.html

 What to do if the electricity goes out: https://www.snopud.com/home/powerout.ashx?p=1120