Heavy snow causes road closures; shelters open

Around five inches of snow accumulated in Auburn over the weekend.

By Henry Stewart-Wood • December 27, 2021 12:38 pm

The forecasts did not disappoint — around five inches of snow covered Auburn over the holiday weekend with a slight chance of more snow this week, according to the National Weather Service.

High temperatures are not expected to surpass 32 degrees until Thursday (Dec. 30) when a high of 38 degrees is expected.

With temperatures below freezing, roads could remain covered in snow and ice for the better part of this week. The City of Auburn asks drivers to stay home if possible. If you have to drive, the City of Auburn has a map of the snowplow routes available online.

Due to poor road conditions across the county, King County Executive Dow Constantine directed King County Metro to activate its Emergency Snow Network (ESN). The ESN reduces services to about 60 core routes prioritized by local cities, according to King County.

The routes serve key areas with high ridership and coordinate with snowplows to ensure the routes are safe. The ESN went into effect at 4 a.m. Monday (Dec. 27) and will remain in operation until road conditions have improved, according to King County.

For information on the routes in operation and their schedules, visit the King County Metro website.

With such low temperatures expected throughout the week, the Auburn Food Bank has opened its drop-in center as an overnight warming center for folks without access to heated shelter in Auburn. The shelter is at 2806 Auburn Way North and is open 9 p.m. to 7 a.m. through Wednesday (Dec. 29), according to the city of Auburn.

This cold snap broke the record for the biggest difference in temperature in a single calendar year in Seattle with a high of 108 degrees Fahrenheit on June 28 and a low of 17 degrees Fahrenheit on Monday, Dec. 27, according to the National Weather Service Seattle.