The heaviest snowfall in years blanketed the Long Beach Peninsula overnight, closing schools and turning the beach into a winter wonderland, if only for a few hours.

LONG BEACH PENINSULA — Only snowmen were waiting near bus stops after the heaviest snowfall in years blanketed the Long Beach Peninsula and other areas of Pacific County, closing schools and turning the beach into a winter wonderland.

Parts of the peninsula reported accumulations of 8-11 inches by Tuesday, Feb. 4, by far the most significant snowfall at lower elevation this decade. Totals were even greater at higher elevations of the Willapa Hills.

The snowfall began Feb. 3, turning area school delays into cancellations. Snow intensity peaked around 11 a.m. Tuesday, at times turning into blustery, near-whiteout conditions, snarling traffic along Sandridge and Pacific Avenue, as some residents seized the rare opportunity to build a snowman along the peninsula’s prime thoroughfare.

All five of the county’s main school districts were closed Monday through Wednesday. Ocean Beach delayed its start by two hours on Thursday, while the other four districts remained closed. All returned to a normal schedule Feb. 7. Service by Pacific Transit and some other agencies and businesses was also impacted by the storm.

The equivalent of nearly two inches of water fell in the first week of February at the WSU Pioneer Road Extension Station, all of that in the form of heavy, wet snow.

The recent snow mirrored a storm six years ago, when five inches fell on the Long Beach Peninsula on Feb. 4, 2019.

It may not be over. A long-range forecast for mid-February suggests a possibility of a major snow event for the southern Willapa Hills, with neighboring lower elevations also affected. In the days before then, occasional snow is possible during what University of Washington meteorologist Cliss Mass calls “one of the coldest mid-winters in regional history.” On the peninsula, overnight lows were below freezing throughout February’s first week.