Last Wednesday Oak Harbor received an uncharacteristically late visit from “Old Man” winter.

NAS Whidbey Island recorded six inches of snow on the runways while surrounding areas in the higher elevations on the island reported an extra three inches. 

The average snowfall in February is less than half an inch. The base hasn’t seen this much snow since December 2008 when the region was closed down for nine inches of snow that fell over a four-day period.

Thanks to the Herculean effort by the men and women who work for Chugach Industrial, Inc., the base operating support contractor over the three major “snow” days, vital sections of the airfield were cleared, planes were de-iced, roads were plowed and parking lots were scraped, making limited operations possible.

Several transient transport aircraft were able to land on Wednesday, the day only mission-essential personnel were required to report for duty.

Over the next two days, some squadrons cancelled flight schedules due to icy ramps while others fared better and were able to conduct limited operations.

“It’s pretty clear that what we once would have described as the ‘twice a decade’ storm is becoming more frequent,” said Airfield Manager Bill MacMillan. “This will require us to change some of our operational practices with respect to ice and snow.”

Air Operations is studying the various de-icing compounds available to help expedite the clearing of runways, taxiways, and aircraft parking ramps during winter storms. 

“Our challenge is to make sure we use the right product that does not contribute to corrosion, and is environmentally acceptable.”