WHATCOM COUNTY, Wash. — Nearly two months of rain, floods and snow have been relentless in Whatcom County. Groundhog Day is still a month away but it feels like it's already here in the county.
"It sure does," said Tim Morse, a snowplow driver. "It snows and then we have to start all over again."
Morse has been plowing roads in Bellingham for 24 years and said this winter has been one of the worst.
"I like it for about the first five days," Morse said
Morse and the crew at Bellingham Public Works have been working 12-hour shifts for two solid weeks.
It all started on Christmas Eve when Morse worked from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.
"You just fit in Christmas when you can," Morse said.
A steady stream of rain, floods, rain, snow, more rain and more snow have saturated the county and worn workers down.
"I think there's a lot of coffee and there's a lot of Red Bull," said Bellingham Interim Supervisor of Maintenance Marty Gray. "Someone was joking we should buy some stock in energy drinks. This is probably the most microwaved food we've eaten in a long time."
In other parts of Whatcom County, the miserable weather has been dragging on for almost two months beginning with historic floods that still have hundreds of people out of their homes in Sumas and Everson.
Along with plow drivers, postal workers aren't getting a break.
The crush of holiday deliveries combined with weeks of winter driving conditions across the county is wearing thin.
"I mean, it's hectic. There's no doubt about that. It's tough trying to fight up and down hills and through deep snow," said Bellingham postal worker James Foreman. "I figure if I'm cold, I work faster."
Right now, the race is on to get the streets plowed again before Thursday night's freezing rain sets in which threatens to turn the streets into slopes.
Morse and the crew will be on the job, waiting for sunnier days ahead.
"Hopefully it warms up here and all this snow disappears," Morse said. "That would be nice."