If you've lived in Seattle for a long time, you know that snow is unusual, and increasingly so.
We looked at weather records and found that the 10 snowiest days on record were mostly in the 1950s and 1960s, according to the Seattle Weather Blog. (There were also two super snowy days in 1985, which some of you may remember.)
Heaviest snowfall hit on Jan. 13, 1950, with 20 inches of snow. That must have been a cold month, because another 10 inches came down two weeks later.
Other snowy days:
Jan. 27, 1969 — 14.9 inches.
Dec. 31, 1968 — 9.8 inches. (The Alaskans and Midwesterners are laughing, but if they're reading this, they probably live in the Seattle area, and for good reason.)
Dec. 23, 1965 — 8.9 inches.
We combed the Seattle Municipal Archives for photos of those days gone by, and they are wonderful and oh-so familiar. Turns out, our public transportation has always gone sideways on icy hills and dogs are often the stars of snow photography.
[asset-images[{"caption": "All six snowplows, ready to go, mounted on trucks at 9th & Weller in Seattle, Jan. 19, 1937.", "fid": "133631", "style": "placed_wide", "uri": "public://201702/11379.gif", "attribution": "Credit Courtesy Seattle Municipal Archives 11379"}]]
[asset-images[{"caption": "When it snows, people take photos of dogs. This one is named Tucker, and he was photographed with his owner, Mattie E. Ober on Jan. 16, 1916, at their home, 4228 Burke Ave., in Wallingford. Mrs. Ober was married to a civil engineer with whom she had one child named Carol.", "fid": "133632", "style": "placed_wide", "uri": "public://201702/50812.gif", "attribution": "Credit Courtesy of Seattle Municipal Archives 50812"}]][asset-images[{"caption": "BEST: Removing snow from Seattle streets following the storm of Feb. 14, 1923.", "fid": "133633", "style": "placed_wide", "uri": "public://201702/12992.jpg", "attribution": "Credit Courtesy of Seattle Municipal Archives"}]][asset-images[{"caption": "We were going to make a joke about how it's probably unsafe to sit on a slippery hill while holding a handgun, but census records reveal that the young man pointing the handgun, Ralph Whalley, died the next year. The original caption says he and Charles Lindsey are 'plinking with handguns.'", "fid": "133637", "style": "placed_wide", "uri": "public://201702/50234.gif", "attribution": "Credit Courtesy of Seattle Municipal Archives 50234"}]][asset-images[{"caption": "Everything looks great, but we know how this story ends: Streetcar braves the snow at 3rd and Marion, Feb 1, 1937. ", "fid": "133635", "style": "placed_wide", "uri": "public://201702/11398.jpg", "attribution": "Credit Seattle Municipal Archives 11398"}]][asset-images[{"caption": "Brutal: Removing snow from the streets of Seattle following the Valentine's Day storm of 1923. This is at Westlake & Pine, outside the old Frederick & Nelson.", "fid": "133638", "style": "placed_wide", "uri": "public://201702/38243.jpg", "attribution": "Credit Courtesy of Seattle Municipal Archives 38243"}]][asset-images[{"caption": "Remember the snow plow labeled BEST a few photos back? There it is on the left, looking rather small compared to this one, not that we're judging. Original caption calls this the city's 'champion snow plow.'", "fid": "133639", "style": "placed_wide", "uri": "public://201702/57041.gif", "attribution": "Credit Seattle Municipal Archives 57041"}]][asset-images[{"caption": "Seattle, Pike Place Market sign in the distance, and parking for miles, 1974.", "fid": "133640", "style": "placed_wide", "uri": "public://201702/35834.gif", "attribution": "Credit Seattle Municipal Archives 35834"}]]
