Meanwhile, Tucson has gloriously gloomy and rainy Seattle weather. I'm pleased, as I can't do Christmas with sunshine.

Hope all the Seattleites are well and the worst is over. I'll need you to return to normal by Jan. 5th for my next trip. TIA

Downtown is still a mess, especially for cars! Most of the sidewalks are cleared of ice and snow, and fine for walking, at least in the downtown core.

But the streets----oy! We've tried both 4th and 6th Aves., and both are a mess---big ice berms and frozen ruts, which toss the cars from side to side. My Saab is great in snow and even on ice (I have special tires). But I fear for my suspension with the "tank traps" as DH calls them. Yesterday on Fourth there were lots of stuck busses, so one had to run a slalom course between them.

Now that it is warmer things are softening up. I went out for a walk at noon, and saw several cars spinning their wheels, especially in curb lanes where the deep snow accumulated.

Many of the east-west streets that are hilly are still closed, and the ones that aren't, you take at your peril.

And we're supposed to get more snow tonight.

I feel for the people who are stuck here. I believe the airport is almost back to normal, but apparently not the trains or Greyhound bus.

The City of Seattle doesn't use salt on its streets for fear of environmental damage. Instead they use a combination of sand and some chemical de-icer that's allegedly easier on the fishies.

Some genius at the City told the press the intent was to create a "hard pack" on the streets that will still allow vehicles with chains or 4WD to navigate successfully.

How's that working for you, Mr. Mayor?

Gardyloo--LOL! Portland is the same way. And yes, even in 4wd with chains I was sliding around today with everyone else. Did my quick trip (although it was not quick!) and came home. For OR, they are saying this is our worst storm in 40 years and we have record snowfall.

Right. So the "hard pack" is a series of bumps and moguls as bad as a black diamond ski run! This morning the car ahead of us, an SUV with 4WD, suddenly slipped sideways several feet because the left back wheel "fell" off the side of one of the big moguls, and the driver overcorrected, and . . .

I'm just glad we weren't next to him at the time.

enzian--Both kids got lots of verbal driving lessons today. I was just amazed at how many idiots were on the road today.

Well, except for a quick stock-up trip to the market in a friend's 4WD SUV on Saturday, we have not been able to get out since last Tuesday. Our county (Jefferson) does not use de-icer or salt; they plow and use sand (which just lies there on top of the sheet of ice on the road.) UPS won't deliver, so no Christmas presents for a lot of kids in our area.

I realize that de-icer and salt are not environmentally friendly, but one would think that since they are so rarely needed around here we could break them out for this kind of a crisis.

There is another thread here in the lounge about SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) -- it advises folks to get out and about to fight its effects -- unfortunately that's not even possible for us.

Still snowing this morning (another couple of inches at our place) and to make things worse I may need to do an emergency trip to LA today or tomorrow (sick family member.) Taxis not taking bookings, Shuttle Express not taking bookings, the garage at Sea-Tac is filling up or full... X(

Murphy was an optimist.

Gardyloo---it was snowing hard at our house this morning, but it is pretty much rain in downtown Seattle. The freeways (both I-90 and I-5 for us) were fine; wet and a bit sloppy but no deep slush. There is little traffic.

Maybe someone can drive you to the airport so you don't have to park? Or use one of the off-site parking lots (We use Masterpark with AAA discount; they even have covered parking if you want that.)

I'm sorry about your sick relative. May he or she recover.

<i>Maybe someone can drive you to the airport so you don't have to park? Or use one of the off-site parking lots (We use Masterpark with AAA discount; they even have covered parking if you want that.)

I'm sorry about your sick relative. May he or she recover.</i>

Thanks - it looks as if I can defer the travel until the weekend. The relative is not critical, just caught up in HMO/SNF/Medicare supplemental insurer bureaucracy that has him threatened with eviction from a skilled nursing facility on Saturday despite his primary physician and supervising nurse telling everybody he's not ready. I'll post a giant rant in the Lounge when I have time. Any SoCal Fodorites with experience with Scan Medical?

As for the airport, I can probably arrange a ride if need be. Regarding the offsite parking people, none are accepting reservations, and the TV news said many haven't had their lots plowed so nobody's coming or going. What a zoo.

TV news also said high today in the high 30s and warming into the mid-40s by Fri/Sat, so aside from water-covered ice on the side streets (oh joy) things ought to be getting better over the next 72 hrs.

I write y'all from Corvallis, Oregon on Christmas Eve -whoo-hoo!

Alaska/Horizon was generous in letting people change non-refundable tickets for no change fee because of the storm, so flew down (Seattle/Eugene) yesterday, Tuesday instead of Sunday as originally scheduled.

Made a reservation with Shuttle Express who came thru like a champ &amp; got me to the airport right on time, no easy task getting off Capitol Hill or bumping over the streets of downtown.

My flight was delayed from 4pm to 6pm (in several increments, 4:40pm, then 5:40pm, then 5:20pm) but we flew!

Merry Christmas Eve to all my Fodorite friends near &amp; far.

g'night :-)

Good thing you flew to Eugene! You would have been caught in a horrid mess on I-5 around Wilsonville with your timing. It was still really bad yesterday.

Suze - I'm glad you made it! We stayed in Bellingham but with no UPS &amp; no postal service for days, we were missing some gifts. But it's lovely.

Meanwhile, I saw this on the AP on Tuesday, perhaps the definitive answer for this OP ;)

SEATTLE (AP) --
Many surface streets remained snowpacked, icy and rutted with treacherous gray slush across the normally balmy Pacific Northwest from weekend storms that brought 8 to 12 inches of snow to Seattle and nearby cities.

We had postal and FedEx service out here in the Hood Canal area, but no UPS. Not sure I understand why our mail lady made it out with her front wheel drive Honda, but UPS can't manage it. So no Christmas presents here.

Things are looking a little better now and we're thinking we might actually be able to get out of here in a day or two. Still might need chains though.

Friend returned from Seattle.

First comment was &quot;I've never seen so much precipitation, in so many forms (rain, sleet, snow, freezing rain, ice, fog, ice fog) before in my life.&quot;

Apparently, they were originally going to go skiing, but gf's parents didn't let them due to driving conditions (I guess there were some deaths on the road due to the hazardous conditions and they were being cautious).

Confirmed that his gf's family does NOT keep heat at 40, like other posters in Seattle, but more like 68-70 he said. Very comfortable and cozy. They also had a roaring fire going everyday and they even cooked smores on it.

He said his gf constantly talks about returning to the PNW, but he now said that &quot;he won't be moving to the PNW anytime soon&quot;, and even she said that &quot;now I remember why I moved away in the first place&quot;, although he did agree to visit during the summer as &quot;he hears its beautiful that time of year&quot;.

Seattle IS beautiful in the spring, summer, and fall.

Hardly fair to dismiss the city entirely because of one single visit during the worst storm we've had in years.

suze,

I agree, that is quick for him to dismiss it. However, I think it is good to see a city at its harshest, because that gives you a good idea of what you can expect, even if it's rare.

For instance, if someone was going to be moving to Texas, I'd recommend a visit first in the fall, winter, or spring, and then in the summer.

If friend's gf had wanted to really lure him to PNW, she should have planned a trip during spring, summer, or fall, and shown how mild Seattle can be.

I actually talked to her after the fact, and she said she had planned this trip because she wanted to show how mild Seattle was in the winter, yet still have access to skiing in hopes of luring her bf there. However, mother nature had other things in store.

Still, the purpose of the trip was not to visit Seattle, but for him to visit her parents, enjoy Christmas, and the goal was accomplished. It was their first white Christmas together, and I can't think of anything more romantic than being snowed in on Christmas day :)

Both were extremely happy to be back to 70 degrees and sunny today. (I'm in short sleeves today).

I know you can't seem to understand this, but I *love* living here. Wearing short sleeves in winter means nada to me. I would not live in Texas if you paid me to.

The Pacific Northwest is an incredibly beautiful and magical place, both the natural geography and the spirit of its people.

I've lived in half a dozen states, a few dozen cities in my lifetime but Seattle is my favorite of 'em all.

btw I don't keep my house at 40 degrees in the daytime when I have company over ;-)

suze,

Geeze. You're so sensitive. I do understand why you enjoy living in Seattle. What you don't understand is why some people may not enjoy living there.

I was just reporting what my friend and his girlfriend told me. I can't change what they said, although I can lie to you and say they said it was paradise if it would make you feel better.

No need to lie. We don't want more people moving here anywho :-)