A Sea Level Snow

At first glance, this photograph almost looks like the silver sands of the Florida panhandle beaches where I grew up.  Surprise...it is not sand, but snow at a very different sea level location - Seattle, Washington.

It is very rare that it snows and sticks in Seattle or other nearby low lying areas along the Puget Sound.  In fact there is a geological area called the "lowlands" which describes the low elevation region along the Puget Sound between the Cascade Range to the east and the Olympic Range to the west.  In the winter months, Seattle and low lying areas receive little to no snow.  But go about an hour in either direction out from the city (and a couple thousand feet of elevation gain) and you can have all the snow you ever wanted.

The Seattle snow day on February 13 was the most snow the city has seen in 52 years.  It was also the first day in seven years that temperatures did not break 32 degrees Fahrenheit.  Most people from outside the region are always surprised to hear that Seattle has a very moderate climate - there are very few days of extreme cold or heat.  The snow continued a bit on the morning of February 14 before officially turning back over to rain later in the day.  I never took exact snow measurements but my unofficial snow total was 10-12 inches, thanks to "postholing" through plenty of fresh powder around town.  Hey, that is a lot - according to this born and raised southerner's standards.

​Enjoy my favorite shots taken on two days of wandering and photographing the snowy scenes around town.

Lines and Patterns

Portraits of Objects

Trees and Plants

Space Needle