Those who are new to the area might have heard tales about the adverse winter weather North Kitsap gets hit with on an annual basis. They’re probably packing their bags for California after this past weekend.

Even those who have called the area home for a while the deluge of snow and rain fueled by the sudden change in temperatures — of some 25 degrees — was a bit of a surprise. OK a huge surprise. But even so, and despite the fact that the area got off a bit easy in comparison to many of its neighbors, North Kitsap residents seemed to weather the storm rather well.

In the vast majority of cases commonsense prevailed, as citizens, motorists, local governments, schools and businesses made prudent decisions that kept a state of emergency from escalating to a state of panic.

And while Mother Nature was throwing a tantrum of Biblical proportions, the overwhelming feeling in North Kitsap was one of simply doing what folks had to do to get from Point A to Point B or to get the job done. Drivers were cautious and courteous by and large, and while folks were certainly battening down the hatches, residents kept a fairly level head.

There seemed to be an undercurrent of knowledge that “this too shall pass,” which sustained the area even as the weather went from bad to worse and worse to worst. It’s quite a testament to the residents here, and something they should be proud of as they recall the events of the past several days.

Keeping it together as individuals is tough enough at times. Keeping it together as a community is quite an achievement. Job well done.