Lewis County Begins to Thaw Out After Weekend Snowstorm

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After a weekend of snow, warming temperatures Monday afternoon brought a drizzle to Lewis County — and the thaw should continue throughout the week.

“The switch over to a warmer southwest flow is occurring, and it’s going to continue to moderate and keep temperatures mild,” said Jeff Michalski, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Seattle. “It should continue through the duration of the storm.”

As the mercury climbed into the mid-30s Monday, several  inches of snow still clung to the ground, and plenty of students were out enjoying their snow day with sleds in tow. 

The snowfall was serious business for local governments, who had crews working throughout the weekend in response to a snow event of a magnitude rarely seen in the Washington lowlands. 

“We had 20-plus (plow) trucks running all weekend long,” said Josh Metcalf, Lewis County Public Works director. 

In addition to its two dozen or so large plow trucks, the county also deployed pickup trucks with plow attachments to clear secondary streets. Commissioner Bobby Jackson said Monday that the county’s roads had largely remained in good condition thanks to the weekend work of the plow crews.

Trucks were sent out Monday morning at 4 a.m. as snow continued to fall, and facilities crews showed up early to clear snow around the county courthouse. 

“They worked all weekend and started again this morning,” Metcalf said. 

Metcalf noted that the county had enough resources to manage shifts and give drivers plenty of rest. Meanwhile, county manager Erik Martin said the 911 center had been “very busy” over the weekend, but the county managed to keep it fully staffed.

“The employees were very cooperative and very willing to do whatever it took to serve the people this weekend,” he said. 

Lewis County may gain a reprieve from the wintry conditions as the week goes on, with temperatures looking to hover in the high 30s and low 40s. The only lingering worry is Wednesday night, where temperatures may drop low enough to re-freeze some of the moisture still on the ground. 

Michalski noted that it’s important to make sure snow isn’t blocking storm drains, as that can lead to water pooling on the streets. Because the warm-up isn’t happening rapidly, there’s little concern about flooding, he said. 

Another system will arrive Thursday afternoon and linger into Friday, but snow levels are expected to be relatively low — and lower elevations will likely get rain instead.