City on short fuse due to 'Sno-maggedon'

Rain will add weight to roofs
Weight on roofs is a major problem. The National Weather Service has estimated that the existing snow is placing a load of about 25 pounds per square foot roof on roofs designed to hold 30 to 40 pounds. Rain forecast to follow the snow this week will add significant new weight, the agency said.

That has created a brisk market for day laborers willing to go up on roofs and shovel snow off for at least $15 per hour.

Rising temperatures were already melting snow and creating rivers of water Tuesday afternoon, promising some relief.

"I'm sick of it and ready for it to melt," said Joe Olney, 19, a store clerk.

But two women who work at the Chocolate Apothecary in downtown Spokane have found a coping mechanism.

"We are surrounded by chocolate," said owner Susan Davis. "It's all good in here."

While eastern Washington digs out from under the snow, parts of the western side of the state are shoveling mud.

In Whatcom County, just south of the Canadian border, County Executive Pete Kremen declared an emergency Tuesday night because of mudslides and flooding. Slides hit at least three homes, said Bellingham police Lt. Rick Sucee.

"Because of the heavy, heavy rain we've got urban flooding, we've got mudslides, we've got water over the road, we've got ditches full," Sucee told The Associated Press. "Small creeks are now rivers."

In Orting, south of Tacoma, Pierce County officials activated an automated telephone warning system to urge 700 residents to leave their homes because of the flood danger along the Carbon and Puyallup rivers.

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