139 years ago, Seattle got 5 feet of snow It's a little different from the weather concerns of today

Cherry Street in over five feet of snow, 1880. Over five feet of snow fell on Seattle in early January 1880. The city wasn't used to such heavy snow. Schools closed, trains didn't run, and the city's activities ground to a halt. This photo was taken on January 10th, 1880 after the great snow. It shows the view up Cherry Street from First Avenue towards First Hill. (Photographer: Peterson Brothers via Museum of History & Industry. Photograph Collection: PEMCO Webster & Stevens Collection) less Cherry Street in over five feet of snow, 1880. Over five feet of snow fell on Seattle in early January 1880. The city wasn't used to such heavy snow. Schools closed, trains didn't run, and the city's activities ... more Image 1 of / 95 Caption Close 139 years ago, Seattle got 5 feet of snow 1 / 95 Back to Gallery

As a huge storm forms off-shore, all of Western Washington is preparing for another pummeling of wind and rain (the January usual). But 139 years ago today, Seattleites woke up to a very different kind of storm.

On Jan. 9, 1880 the infamous "Storm King" struck the Northwest, bringing with it 5 feet of snow to Seattle city streets and damaging winds down in Oregon.

It's hard to compare the storm to more recent weather events -- observations of the weather in 1880 were mostly limited to anecdotes that newspapers wrote about at the time. But meteorologists definitely consider it in the running for worst storms in Washington and Oregon history.

(The fact that it came just days after Territorial Governor Elisha Ferry's State of the Territory address which noted that "ice and snow are almost unknown in Washington Territory" just adds that extra layer of irony that Pacific Northwesterners are accustomed to.)

RELATED: 'Huge Storm Offshore': Cliff Mass calls it a cyclone

From what researchers have been able to piece together, the storm center came ashore near Astoria, Oregon on Jan. 9. Oregon got hit with what Dr. Wolf Read describes in his research of the storm as at least 60-75 mph gusts; some possibly got higher, based on the Oregon City Enterprise's report of "trees [that] have been torn up by the roots -- in many places whole groves."

Washington, meanwhile, got a different kind of wind: As KOMO's Scott Sistek described in his 2017 write-up, "a deep pool of arctic air was parked in British Columbia, and this storm sucked a lot of it back into Western Washington, then dumped what would normally have been 1-2 inches of rain on top of the cold air, making for what were near-record short-term durations of snowfall around the Puget Sound area."

The fact that some spots were already sporting about two feet of snow from a blizzard just a few days prior meant that the newly received precipitation dump potentially more than doubled some snow banks. In the Museum of History and Industry photo above, there's about 5 feet of snow blanketing Cherry Street.

RELATED: A look at the Northwest earthquake that shook the world

Given how Seattle shuts down at the slightest heavy snow, you can only guess how the city shut down at the time. Essentially it ground to a halt: trains stopped running, schools were closed, a Bainbridge lumber mill would start late each day so the workers could clear the snow off roofs in the town.

The weather was so cold that the snow lingered for a few weeks.

And while Seattle has had its fair share of storms (even those still on the horizon), it's certainly been a while since we've seen any significant snow fall in the city.

RELATED: 'Hazardous driving conditions' expected over passes as storm brings snow to the mountains

The mountains, however, will see a good amount this week: A winter storm warning was in effect for parts of the Cascades through 6 a.m. Thursday. About 2 feet of snow is possible for areas above 4,000 feet in the northern and southern areas of the mountains, with up to a foot of snow possible over the passes.

If you're thinking of indulging in some winter sports on the newly dumped powder, consider Stevens Pass which is expected to see the most; freezing rain will be possible at Snoqualmie Pass.

Conditions and requirements over the passes could change as weather conditions change -- check their current statuses at this link.

SeattlePI reporter Zosha Millman can be reached at zoshamillman@seattlepi.com. Follow Zosha on Twitter at @zosham. Find more from Zosha here on her author page.