OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK — A weekend of falling snow on Hurricane Ridge prompted Olympic National Park maintenance crews to start plowing Hurricane Ridge Road on Monday.
A total of nearly 4 feet of snow fell on the Ridge over the weekend, said Barb Maynes, spokeswoman for Olympic National Park.
About a foot of snow fell at the North Olympic Peninsula’s only ski and snowplay site on Friday, 22 inches fell on Saturday and an additional foot fell Sunday, she said Monday afternoon.
“They were plowing pretty much the whole weekend,” she said.
“They spent all day on Saturday up there to see if it could open on Sunday, but there was just no way.
“They were working to clear up the snow [on Monday] before the next snow so there will be less to deal with as the weekend approaches.”
Another foot was predicted for the ridge Monday night, but the crews pressed ahead anyway, Maynes said.
Elsewhere in the region, a heavy snow warning was issued Monday night for the Hood Canal area and the northern tip of the Kitsap Peninsula.
Two to five inches of snow could fall in the affected areas along southern Hood Canal by 7 a.m. today, according to the National Weather Service.
Whether Hurricane Ridge Road will be open Friday and the weekend remains to be seen, but plowing will continue, weather permitting, Maynes said.
“The hope is always to get the road open,” she said.
A total of about 106 inches — almost 9 feet — has accumulated on the Ridge since the beginning of winter, Maynes said.
That’s still far from the most recent record snow, accumulated in the winter and spring of 1999.
That’s when park officials estimated that 63 feet of snow fell at Hurricane Ridge, more than double the normal total.
Latest snow conditions at Hurricane Ridge as well as road conditions throughout Olympic National Park can be heard on the recorded message by phoning 360-565-3131.
