Dec. 18, 1990: Frozen In Time -- `Arctic Express' Inspired A Regional Storm Plan

HOW bad was last December's blizzard? It was so bad that Seattle, King County and Metro officials actually worked cooperatively on an emergency-response plan for the next big snowstorm.

They came, they thawed, they conquered.

If only a portion of what Mayor Norm Rice announced last Thursday had been in place last year, the horror-story quotient would have been cut in half.

Sand trucks and plows will be prepositioned when snow is forecast. Ramps and hills off and on Interstate 5 will be scraped bare. Roadways and hills in the county and city will be doused with an environmentally friendly de-icing agent. Freeway express lanes will be opened and cleared for transit only.

City and state will use more than a wet finger in the air and someone's sensitive bunions to track winter weather. They will subscribe to a sophisticated monitoring service.

Rice is correct when he says the Puget Sound region does not get the kind of heavy weather that requires the investment in fleets of snowplows. Still, enough snow and ice haunts the area to expect - demand - better preparation.

Last Dec. 18 was a nightmare for stranded commuters and kids trapped in darkened schools. In Chicago or Denver, public officials lose their jobs over poor snow removal.

Seattle may be too mellow a place for that kind of voter retribution. Unless it happens twice.