Washington's Snoqualmie, Stevens Pass see first snow of the season

Right now, we are seeing our first snow, and the pass's snow levels dropping to just above 3,000 feet as we take a live look at the summit at Snoqualmie, only a slight accumulation at the summit with about 2 to 4 inches falling in some areas between 3,000 and 3,500 feet this morning. FOX 13's Sean Chitt is brave the cold in Snoqualmie to give us a look at the wintry road conditions. Well, the snow has arrived here on Snoqualmie Pass. We certainly saw it early in the morning as we were working our way up to Seattle. Then we experienced some rain while up here on the pass. Conditions a lot calmer now, but you can see just how much snow has come through in this first appearance of the season, not only along the trees and mountains, but even here along the resort as well. But WSDOT crews were working very hard today to make sure that the road conditions were as easy as they could be with this start of the season. And we can see here along Snoqualmie Pass at the top here, things are looking good as conditions were improving along I-90 as well. Crews, of course, were preparing for a few inches and said that they could handle a few more. They had the de-icer out as well as teams removing the snow itself. And they really think of this as a job that begins in August by hiring additional crews. and what they call the winter shift, preparing for these types of conditions. Well, that actually starts in early October. This is what we do. This is what we specialize in. So, again, our crews are ready. We've got our plows and graders and snowblowers ready. Our mechanics are ready to work on equipment in the event that any of it should break down. So, again, this is something that we've been preparing for in late summer, and we're ready to go with this first weather event. And WSDOT says they will be ready as the week continues. and if conditions change, they're checking the weather twice a day and that lets them decide what type of de-icer to use and if they need to add additional crews. They also say that Washington State Patrol is helping them to make sure that they are enforcing any traction tire requirements, which of course is only going to become more serious as we approach November 1st. Reporting on Snoqualmie Pass, Sean Jettness, Fox 13 News. Well, crews at Crystal Mountain had plenty to cheer about today. staff at the popular resort are putting the finishing touches on preparations for the upcoming ski season. This morning's mountain snow was a welcome sight for those that make their living at higher altitudes. Driving up 410 this morning watching the rain turn to snow and then arriving at the base and seeing our employees getting the mountain ready, some hooting and hollering going around. Our teams are pretty well set and dialed ready to go for the year. We're ready to start making snow to augment mother nature whenever the temps allow. the resort got about a foot of snow well well short of what's needed to welcome skiers and snowboarders typically the facility needs about two to three feet at the base before they can open for the season