The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1893-02-06
THE CHINOOK COMES.
Its Soft Breath Drives Away
Frost and Snow.
WINTER MAKES A LAST Squirt.
After . Two Hours Furry of Snow .
Southwest Gale Begins-Evii Work
Of Storm and Thaw.

blowing gale across the country, licking
up the snow and opening the streams
which have been locked up by the frost,
taking away the Dakota plague with it.
The thaw began in the morning, but it
was SLOW at first. as though the frost were
reluctant 10 relax Its grip. Snow fell fit
fully all dav. sometimes few stray flakes,
at others IN driving gusts. and the temper
allure hung about "a and 35 degrees, while
the wind blew from all points
of the compass by turns. About 8
o'clock in the evening the wind turned
to the southwest and brought with 1t such
snowstorm as has not fallen since Da-
kota weather invaded the Sound eleven
days ago. 1t came down in great big
fakes in perfect clouds and in two hours
covered the ground to depth Of three
inches. The wind meanwhile kept rising
and SO did the temperature, until at 10
O'Clock it was blowing a gale at 40 de-
grees and the snowpiies were perceptibly
diminishing
The street railway companies were fin
fishing the work Of clearing their tracks
when the chinook began. The Yesler
avenue line was running as usual, having
made better Roadway against the elements
than any other road. The Madison
street cable road was running from
West street to the power house
and the snow plow was working
all day on the east end. All hope of get
ting the Front street line into operation
until lasting thaw came had been aban-
doned, as the slot has been closed by the
frost and the conduit must be blocked with
snow. The Consolidated electric line to
North Seattle was running with fifteen
minute service and the Fremont and Green
Lake lines were running, but the Lake
Union tracks were again blocked by the
snow dragged on them by teams. The
snow piow was working on them all after
noon and they were cleared about 6o'clock.
A snow plow was also put to work on the
Cedar street line. Cars were running every
twenty minutes on the Third street line
as far as the power house at Lake Union
and pillow was opening the line to Latona
and Brooklyn in the hope of getting cars
to those suburbs today. Cars were rum
ming on all the Union Trunk lines on reg
uiar time, with the exception of the Bea-
con hill line. The heavy grades on this
line prevented the snow plow from opening
the track through the deep snow, and pc
destrans have beaten the snow down so
firmly that it has to be shoveed of. This
work is expected TO be finished by this
evening. The Grant street line was cleared
all the way through to Yesler avenue in
the afternoon, the first car coming in
about O'Clock. No attempt was made to
put the West street line in operation.
The telephone system was badly de-
moralized and is not likely to be in full
working order for day or two. OF the
nh ;y, ~
rendered useless by the breaking Of wires.
The great icicles which adorned the roots
of the business blocks were melted off and
came crashing down on the wires, already
made brittle by the frost, and snapped
them like so many threads. Even the
strong leader wire running through the
alley between Front and Second streets,
from which smaller wires branch off to
about sixty phones in the Pioneer, Butler,
Bailep and other blocks adjoining, was
broken in this way. and the whole net
work was converted into a hopeless
tangle. Some of the wires which
mad been repaired on Saturday were
broken down again in this way and the
work had to be done again. this being the
case with those running to the Pioneer
block. The company put seven men, all
u /
on repairs. but they made slow progress,
as the difficulty and danger of the work
made it necessary for two or three men to
go together, instead of each man going
alone, as they usually do. The Snoho-
mish line was down for about seven hours,
being repaired by O'Clock in the after
noon, and the Portland line south of Ia
coma was down for short time in the
morning.
The railroads were running without diff
Guilty as far as local business was con-
cerned, but the through trains on the
Northern Pacific were all late, the storm
being reported to be the worst known in
the mountains in several years. The Great
Northern trains were but little behind
time. the one from the north due at $50
arriving about O'Clock The weather as
far north as Mount Vernon was about the
same as i'll this city. but between
Whatcon and New Westminster it
was still quite cold with snow,
which was drifting badly. The
Lake Shore was ready for trouble
in case of sudden thaw, having work
train prepared to go out at an hours no.
tice. The Columbia e Puget Sound got in
a train of forty cars of Black Diamond
coal, and another of forty-five cars from
Newcastle, so that there is no further dan
ger of a coal famine.
The weather forecast for the twenty-four
hours beginning at o'clock this morning
is: FAIR; temperature changes.
Following is the record for the month of
January, made by X. NJ. Hoskinson, the
voluntary observer at Madrone, Kitsap
county:
TEMPERATURES. PRECiPrS.