NW Mudslide Season 2013-14

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JayPea said:
I like the reference to "chilly snows". I don't know of any other kind of snow. ;)
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Google "Hot Snow". 1972 Russian movie; also the first episode of the British series "The Avengers". ^_^
 
When Seattle shakes from quakes, it’s going to slide, too
With its coastal bluffs, roller-coaster hills and soggy weather, Seattle is primed for landslides even when the ground isn’t shaking. Jolt the city with a major earthquake, and a new study from the University of Washington suggests many more slopes could collapse than previously estimated.

A powerful earthquake on the fault that slices under the city’s heart could trigger more than 30,000 landslides if it strikes when the ground is saturated, the analysis finds. More than 10,000 buildings, many of them upscale homes with water views, sit in areas at high risk of landslide damage in such a worst-case scenario.
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With the SEA area experiencing one of its driest early winters in years this concern has been on the back burner compared to the traffic jams in MT and ND. If the "normal" storminess was being experienced it would have just added considerably to the misery, but the long range forecasts for the entire west coast would appear to keep most of the usual winter storminess away, at least for another month or longer. So I guess we must consider ourselves at least fortunate in that regard.

:)
 
Thank goodness for a drier October and November--and so for in December. ALthough we all need the moisture that those Pacific storms normally bring to us. At least Washington state is in better shape than California, which may have the two driest years in many decades back to back unless a major pattern change occurs, which is highly doubtful according to the NOAA forecasters in that state.
 
Interesting observations on the landslide in Index. Glad it didn't affect the rail line, but it easily could have.

It could take weeks to clear the entire road and shore-up the hillside along the road....

A supervisor at the scene said the bitterly cold weather we had last week contributed to causing the slide.

Freezing temperatures created a layer of hard soil. When we warmed up, a space developed beneath that layer and allowed the ground above it to move under its own mass.
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BTW, the town's unusual name derives from nearby Mt. Index, which was named because early settlers thought it resembled an index finger.

vfiles21459.jpg
http://www.city-data.com/picfilesv/picv21459.php
 
CHamilton said:
Interesting observations on the landslide in Index. Glad it didn't affect the rail line, but it easily could have.

It could take weeks to clear the entire road and shore-up the hillside along the road....
A supervisor at the scene said the bitterly cold weather we had last week contributed to causing the slide.

Freezing temperatures created a layer of hard soil. When we warmed up, a space developed beneath that layer and allowed the ground above it to move under its own mass.
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BTW, the town's unusual name derives from nearby Mt. Index, which was named because early settlers thought it resembled an index finger.
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At least they didn't name it Mt. Middle! :lol:
 
Year starts with Washington snowpack at 45 percent
MOUNT VERNON, WASH. — A dry start to winter has left the snowpack in Washington far short of normal.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's snow survey office in Mount Vernon says as of Jan. 1, snowpack readings were 45 percent of normal for that time of year.

The "water year" starts in October, and by January about half of the annual snowfall should be on the ground, but it was only 18 percent.

Water supply specialist Scott Pattee says this weekend's rain and snow should help a little, but it looks like dry weather will return for the rest of the month.
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Post by Sound Transit

"Posted: January 12 - 10:50 pm

Northline Sounder service between Everett and Seattle is canceled Monday, January 13th due to a mudslide. Morning bus service options for Monday, January 13th are listed below, including additional special buses from each station. An update on evening bus service will be provided as it becomes available."

Interesting that it doesn't mention cancellation for Tuesday or Monday evening. Even so we made it further into the season this year without incident than in the past couple years.
 
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Geeeesh, and Seattle didn't have that big of a storm either (a meager total of 1.09" over 3 days!!!)--good grief!! At least the forecast for the next two weeks looks drier than normal. Those repairs cannot come soon enough!
 
Per All Aboard Washington facebook page

BNSF has dumped a freight on the ground at Kent so now no Amtrak or Sounder service south of Tacoma. So far Amtrak has cancelled train 501. This means no equipment in Portland for train 506 so it is also cancelled for today. Buses are substituting.
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Not shaping up to be a good on the corridor today. I guess they can't detour over Union Pacific tracks to bypass Kent.
 
Oh dear. I believe BNSF already did a bunch of "mudslide prevention work" in 2013, but apparently not enough. I guess more is scheduled for 2014.
 
Wonder if this is why 8(12) was delayed by nearly 3 hours between EDM and EVR yesterday.
 
One more time again...

From this article at The Seattle Times' website today:

A mudslide onto railroad tracks between Seattle and Everett this afternoon has shut down Amtrak and Sounder service for 48 hours, according to BNSF Railway spokesman Gus Melonas.

The slide, which occurred at 2:05 p.m., was south of Mukilteo on the BNSF double mainline and was 25 feet long by 10 feet deep, Melonas said. It’s the third slide on BNSF tracks between Seattle and Everett this winter, Melonas said.

Last year, mudslides interrupted service on the line multiple times, and BNSF Railway made significant engineering enhancements to the area where most of those slides occurred. There have been no further slides in that area this winter, Melonas said.

Today’s slide was about a mile north of the stabilization work, he said, and within two miles of another slide this winter. The third slide this winter was in the Everett area.

Melonas said BNSF is looking at engineering plans for other slope areas along the tracks.

Freight service between Seattle and Everett will be delayed only a few hours today, he said, and is expected to resume by 5 p.m.
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There have been no further slides in that area this winter, Melonas said.
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True, but there's been much less precipitation than normal in the NW this winter. So not entirely an apples-to-apples comparison

with last winter. Not that I'm complaining about fewer interruptions, but I'd like to see how the improvements stand up to a normal

run of winter rains before I get too excited.
 
Who would have guessed that snow and cold would cause more disruptions this winter than mudslides?

Friday (2/7/14)

Amtrak CascadesSnowmageddon! Train 500 is cancelled between Eugene and Portland with no alternate transportation. (We are so sorry). Train 507 passengers will either ride the one bus available or wait for Train 503. (We apologize again). Train 503 is scheduled to operate but will potentially be delayed two hours due to weather issues. I understand that all thruway buses are cancelled tomorrow between Eugene and Portland.
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Yesterday (2/8/14)



Amtrak Cascades


Frozen switches on the tracks have caused some of the problems. Fuel trucks have been delayed due to problems on the roads. Water lines at stations have been frozen and none of this is normal. We are doing the best we can. ...

I just received a note that frozen switches and track congestion are what are causing the problems for trains 508 and 509. Unfortunately, the railroad has not given us an estimate of when the train can proceed.
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I suppose nobody expected to need switch heaters in Washington state. :sigh:
 
Nathnael said:
I suppose nobody expected to need switch heaters in Washington state. :sigh:
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Well, certainly not in the western lowlands anyway. But the snow is already melting in Seattle, and the forecast is for warmer temps and rain all week (which we need). Usual winter weather around here.
 
Sigh.

Landslide halts passenger trains north of Seattle

Updated 2:20 am, Monday, February 17, 2014

SEATTLE (AP) — Officials say a landslide on BNSF tracks has halted passenger service between Seattle and Everett.
BNSF spokesman Gus Melonas says the slide caused by heavy rains struck shortly before midnight about 11 miles north of Seattle.
He said early Monday that crews removed the mud, trees and debris and reopened the line to freight trains.
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