Light snow paves way for frigid nights

Light snow on New Year's Day in Bellevue is expected to give way to temperatures that could drop into the teens Monday and Tuesday nights. Drivers and walkers should be aware of icy conditions and exercise caution.

City crews from the Transportation, Utilities, Parks and Civic Services departments plowed and applied de-icer Sunday at higher elevations in south Bellevue. The Office of Emergency Management also is monitoring conditions. Bellevue residents are encouraged to prepare their homes and vehicles now for cold temperatures.

Here are some tips and resources for dealing with ice and snow:

• Get ready: Create an emergency preparedness kit with at least a three-day supply of non-perishable food and water for home and office, make a plan and practice the plan with your family, get your house ready for cold weather and take precautions with pets. More resources are available at Take Winter by Storm;
• Reporting trouble: Only call 911 for life-threatening emergencies. Call the city's Operations and Maintenance Support line at 425-452-7840  to report trees or other hazards in the roadway;
• Driving: Prepare for difficult driving if roads are icy, plan your routes, and avoid peak commute hours if possible. Drive only if necessary and go slow, allowing extra following distance. Have traction devices in your vehicle and test new chains to make sure they fit. Treat dark intersections as four-way stops;
• Power outages: If you lose power, to prevent poisoning from carbon monoxide, NEVER use a gas or charcoal grill indoors, and NEVER use a generator indoors; only use outdoors far from open windows or vents. Call Puget Sound Energy at 1-888-225-5773  to report a power outage; you can also report it online and check PSE's outage map;
• Warming centers: The public is welcome to come to Bellevue's four community centers (Crossroads, Highland, North Bellevue and South Bellevue) during regular hours of operations;
• Garbage collection: If snow prevents the safe collection of curbside garbage, recycling, or organics, please remove carts from the street by the end of the day. On your next scheduled collection day, up to twice the regular amount of material will be collected at no additional charge. Questions should be directed to city's solid waste provider, Republic Services, at 425-452-4762 ; and
• Stay informed: Bellevue uses various social media channels and its website to inform the public during storms and other emergencies. Visit the city home page for updated information during a storm, or sign up for email notifications on the Extreme Weather Response page, where there are links to emergency preparedness pages on a range of topics.