wsdot snoqualmie rant

Some Stats for you:
Stevens Pass Hwy 2
February 11th, 15th, 17th, 18th, 20th X 2, 21st, 23rd X 2, 24th, 25th (11 missions including Old Faithful, Roadside chutes and East Portal)
From the 9th to the 25th, (16 days) we received 137” of snowfall. (39.54” of water equivalent) Pack depth went from 61” on the 9th to 130” on the 25th.
We used just over 3000 lbs of explosives and 19 artillery rounds.
As of the 15th of February, we were 85 % of normal. Last year this time, we were at 86 % they will do average again on the 1st but should be close to 100%

Snoqualmie Pass I-90 (same period)
125” snow, 16.70” snow water equivalent and 2.83” rain. Height of snow went from 50” to 106”
15 missions and 1150 lbs. of explosives. Side note: we would have only done 3 missions if the work on I-90 were complete

Some Stats for you:
Stevens Pass Hwy 2
From the 9th to the 25th, (16 days)  we received 137” of snowfall. (39.54” of water equivalent)    Pack depth went from 61” on the 9th to 130” on the 25th.

Snoqualmie Pass I-90  (same period)
125” snow, 16.70"”snow water equivalent and 2.83” rain. Height of snow went from 50” to 106”

So Steven's picked up an additional 20" of water equivalent to support an extra 12" of snow? One of those numbers seems off.

For several days straight the DOT did avalanche control on Stevens Pass at 4 AM, including Sunday morning.  After working all night and most of the day (again) my husband had just gotten home at 1:30 PM.  He was called back in at 2:30 PM.  A "natural" slide came down in the Old Faithful area.

That's exactly what I figured. I know that the Stevens crew really strives to do what needs done in that 2-6AM window, or midday if needed so that at least the resort people have their chances to get there (or back) and hats off for that.

Side note: we would have only done 3 missions if the work on I-90 were complete

Good things come to those who wait! . Thank you for helping to keep everyone safe and mobile!

So Steven's picked up an additional 20" of water equivalent to support an extra 12" of snow?  One of those numbers seems off.

Stevens 39.54 is centimeters - not inches. Thanks for pointing that out!

Jo thanks for the work and the interesting stats. 39.54 cm = 15.6" SWE.
That tells us a couple interesting things: Snoqualmie got the convergence more often for 4" more water than Stevens, but got more of that as rain or wet snow so less snowfall and snowpack as a result.
What this also shows is that even though Stevens has 30" more base, snowqualmie has a denser snow pack and thus approximately the same SWE, which matters for summer hydrological planning. And spring ski duration.