BOTHELL, Wash. — Many residents living near the King/Snohomish County line had a lesson in what a difference a few hours and a few blocks can make Thursday morning.
A brief band of snow blew through just in time to snarl traffic on some less-traveled roads for people making their way to school.
Leslie Gourlie was on her way to work near Snohomish when she came upon a Northshore School District bus that had slid partially off the road.
“When I came around the corner, I just saw it in the ditch at that time,” said Gourlie.
Kids were on board the bus, but no one was hurt, according to the district.
Several images were shared with KING 5 Thursday showing school buses struggling in slick conditions on the North and East sides of the metro area.
Gourlie noted that road conditions varied wildly as the brief band of snow hit.
"When I got up at six and saw the roads, there was nothing on it, and I wasn’t concerned at all,” she said. “But by 6:45 when we were leaving for the bus stop is when, within 45 minutes, it came down quite hard.”
Many roads melted just hours later.
Gourlie gave her children a ride to school because the bus was delayed, but she sympathized with those that have to make the call whether or not to delay school.
“It’s a tricky situation. There’s no win,” she said. “Call them off too soon, and people get upset, but if you call them off too late, people are still upset.”
Christina Wilner, assistant director of communications for Northshore Schools, said the timing of the storm made the call very difficult.
“As we need to make our go/no go decision at 5:00 a.m. due to routing lengths and times, we made the decision to open schools on time and buses began transporting students,” Wilner told KING 5. “By the time snow began to stick and snarl traffic, our buses were already well into their routes. We believe it would have been unsafe to change our status and return students back home as many parents may not have been there to receive their children.”
Wilner also provided background on how the district makes that call.
Over in Issaquah, school district officials had a similar explanation: timing. There, Dan Noble captured video of an Issaquah school bus sliding at an angle down a snow-covered hill. Children were on board, but no one was hurt, said L. Michelle, executive director of communications for the district.
“The district is not going to make a decision that puts students or staff in danger,” she said.
Michelle said the Issaquah School District covers 110 square miles and weather can vary between routes. She said several bus routes did struggle in the snow Thursday morning.
She noted if parents feel the trip to school would be unsafe, they’re welcome to call the office and get an excused absence for their child.
“We always tell our parents that the final decision of whether or not to send students to school is theirs,” Michelle said.
Gourlie said she’s just ready for winter weather to dissipate.
“I’m over it,” she laughed. “Very much over it. Bring on summer.”
