Back-to-back storms that deposited some 19 inches of snow at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport this week resulted in a rare event at the Washington State Legislature.
It largely closed on Tuesday in the midst of a 105-day session. It has been the region’s snowiest February in 50 years.
Normally, legislators trudge through snowstorms but this year’s storms have been a once-in-a-decade happening. Schools throughout the Puget Sound region have closed, hundreds of flights have been delayed or canceled and thousands of vehicle accidents and power outages have been recorded. A veteran capitol reporter said she couldn’t remember another weather-related shutdown of the Legislature in her 14 years on the job.
Legislature committee meetings resumed in full today.