West Seattle, Washington
06 Tuesday
(this post covers snow coverage 8:41 am-12:09 pm Sunday. Follow this link to afternoon coverage)
(photo looking east up Thistle from California near WSB HQ)
(sunrise from 39th and Andover, courtesy of John)
(photo courtesy Babs)
Just got a note from Ron that the #128 bus is stuck on the Morgan hill at 39th, going eastbound. He adds, “Cars are also going west, down the hill and sliding most of the way down. I hope SPD or SDOT closes the road soon.” JayDee “above Alki” is hearing tire-spinning that doesn’t “sound successful.” Here’s the “live” city traffic cam looking northeast from Fauntleroy/Alaska:
Lina just added this comment on our early-morning post: “35th/Roxbury looks sketchy and the few cars i see are going really slow by my house.” 9 AM UPDATE: Just checked the conditions outside our house and at the nearest major intersection. The snow is CRUNCHY — aka ice — different from the softer texture when we were out walking after midnight, and the cars coming down Thistle hill toward California to turn north are going very slowly. This, to boot, is a “plow route.” This is the view looking north on California:
More photos welcome, road conditions and otherwise – editor@wsb.blackfin.biz – official information on city roads is hard to come by so info-sharing like this is the best way to share word of what you’re seeing. A new forecast has just been posted – the “winter weather advisory” has been extended till 3 pm and there’s a prediction of possible “new snow accumulations” this afternoon. (Wondering how the Jingle Bell Run is going downtown? Here’s a pic that Mark from West Seattle just sent out via Twitter – and another one from when it started – quite the crowd!) Wildlife note: Previous post’s comments included a discussion about how to help hummingbirds (the flowers “ours” usually drink from are now frozen over) – here’s a WSB Forums post with a suggestion (and photo). 9:34 AM UPDATE: Shari reports, “I just wanted to let everyone know that 35th Ave SW at Camp Long is a sheet of ice. The road doesn’t look bad so I went and checked and it is ice — I was slipping all over in shoes. I see people helping heading to go down the hill but I haven’t seen anyone coming as though they came up the hill.” We can say the same thing for California/Thistle – just went out with video camera to see if anyone, snowplow included, would drive by, but not a soul – and if you walk out into the street, you can tap inch-high ice ridges with your shoe. Meanwhile, WSB contributing photojournalist Christopher Boffoli reports from The Junction that THE FARMERS’ MARKET IS ON – 15 to 20 vendors are there now, setting up. He’ll be sending pix in a bit but also reports, “Some of the vendors from outside of Seattle said that things outside of west Seattle were better. They were surprised the roads in WS were so bad. They said the bridge was pretty nasty getting over here.” Earlier in The Junction, Larry got this photo – describing it as “street art”:
CLICK AHEAD TO READ THE OTHER SUNDAY MORNING UPDATES, WHICH CONTINUED TILL NOON:Read More
Once it’s light, we’ll be checking on conditions, especially the roads, around West Seattle, since a lot is happening today — from the weekly West Seattle Farmers Market, to Hometown Holidays Sunday in The Junction (with Santa photos and more prize drawings), to the WSB Forum potluck holiday party and donation drive (everybody invited!) at Big Al Brewing. In the short term, some helpful links if you need them in the very early am:
City info on snow/ice routes/procedures (including link to plowed-routes map)
County info on snow/ice routes/procedures (including Metro reroutes)
Metro “adverse weather” service status
King County road alerts
Latest forecast
National Weather Service “storm reports” (record snowfall, etc.)
City Light power-outage list
WSDOT trouble spots via Twitter
Washington State Ferries “service bulletins”
Live 911 log for Seattle fire/medic calls
One more note – the Jingle Bell Run to raise money for arthritis is scheduled downtown this morning (here’s the course map; here’s the timetable).
WSB contributing photojournalist Christopher Boffoli has just sent snowy photos from The Junction vicinity, including that one from the “West Seattle Bros.” tree lot on Alaska west of Fauntleroy. We’ll be adding more of his photos – and others that came in from all over West Seattle, in just the past half-hour or so – for this early report (original Saturday night snow coverage here). CLICK AHEAD to see 10 more photos:Read More
(this post covered updates till 12:33 am Sunday; the next post is here)
(video from California/Thistle [map], added 8:50 pm)
At least here on one of the “higher hills,” as the forecast always refers to it. We have at least two Twitter reports of Alki/Beach Drive snow, too, so it seems to be West Seattle-wide. Adding photographic evidence shortly. “Teensy little flakes,” reports the snow-country-born half of the team, “must be REALLY cold up there (in the clouds).” Forecast has warned of the possibility of snow “showers” so we’ll see how long this lasts. 8:46 PM UPDATE: Getting heavier. And drivers on our hill are starting to sound, shall we say, challenged. Send pix if you have ’em! editor@wsb.blackfin.biz
CLICK TO SEE THE REST OF OUR SATURDAY NIGHT SNOW UPDATES, WHICH CONTINUED TILL WE STARTED A NEW POST AFTER MIDNIGHT:Read More
THE CHILL: Snow or no, just be ready for COLD by nighttime. Latest analysis here.
THE FUN: Click here to go directly to the Saturday section of the West Seattle Weekend Lineup. A few new listings came in after we published it yesterday, so even if you checked once, worth another look! (If you’re shopping, our Coupons have discounts and freebies.)
Thanks to Bob Bollen for that sea-spray shot from south of Alki Point (your photos are welcome too! – editor@wsb.blackfin.biz). No reports of major problems in the area so far, but here are some links to watch:
Latest forecast (wind advisory’s in effect till midnight)
National Weather Service “storm reports” (high wind gusts, etc.)
City Light power-outage list
WSDOT trouble spots via Twitter
Washington State Ferries “service bulletins”
King County road alerts
Live 911 log for Seattle fire/medic calls
Got a link to add? We’d love to hear about it. P.S. We checked with Our Lady of Guadalupe a bit earlier and tonight’s 7 pm tree lighting is still on, at last report. ADDED 9:22 PM: A bit of slushy snow earlier, as mentioned in comments. And we got e-mail about a snowplow/sand truck stationed on the south California SW hill (near Ida; here’s a map) just before 8 pm. Will check later if it’s still there. 10:06 PM UPDATE: Newest “forecast discussion” is out. Looks like things aren’t too crazy-cold until tomorrow night, though snow showers are still a threat during the day.
(added 1:44 pm, video of the tree that’s going to fall on WSB HQ someday)
Got a note from Jo on Alki, and we’re seeing it here in west-facing Upper Fauntleroy (over Lincoln Park) – strong wind within the past half-hour, and sideways rain. Batten down! More to come. The forecast was updated less than an hour ago, by the way, for the metro area:
REST OF TODAY…WINDY…RAIN. HIGHS IN THE LOWER 40S. SOUTH WIND 20 TO 30 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 45 MPH.
TONIGHT…RAIN TURNING TO SHOWERS AND WINDY. PRECIPITATION MAY MIX WITH OR CHANGE TO SNOW AT TIMES WITH SLUSHY ACCUMULATIONS OF AN INCH OR TWO ON HIGHER HILLS AWAY FROM THE WATER. LOWS IN THE LOWER TO MID 30S. SOUTHWEST WIND 20 TO 30 MPH EXCEPT NORTHWEST WINDS NORTH OF SEATTLE. WIND DIMINISHING OVERNIGHT.
This is what we’d been waiting for before another Snow Scare ’08 post: The local National Weather Service forecasters just posted their latest 4-times-daily “forecast discussion” moments ago. Read it here; the fact the phrase “explosively developing low pressure” appears in the first line, sounds like a sign of Trouble On The Way, but the “discussion” seems to be downgrading the snow likelihood around here (and the “winter storm warning” will be canceled for points south of Everett:
IN THE LOWLANDS [tonight] WE COULD STILL SEE SLUSHY ACCUMULATIONS ON HIGHER HILLS AWAY FROM WATER WITH SNOW LEVELS DOWN TO NEAR 500 FEET AT TIMES. ANY SNOW THAT DOES ACCUMULATE DOES NOT APPEAR TO BE WIDESPREAD AND SIGNIFICANT THROUGH EARLY SAT MORNING.
Snow or no, low temps are still on the way, they say:
HIGH TEMPERATURES WILL STRUGGLE TO GET ABOVE FREEZING OVER THE UPCOMING WEEK.
Disclaimer: If you’ve lived around here more than five minutes, you know the forecast and 4 bucks will get you a cup of coffee. ADDED 11:30 AM: Just in case – one of the neighborhood mailing lists we monitor has just received a helpful copy of the city’s snowplow-route map; you can get it online here.
Our favorite ex-co-worker meteorologist (Channel 13’s Walter Kelley) says it’s definitely going to be snowing for “everybody” around the metro area starting sometime tomorrow night, so now we really believe it. An official Winter Storm Watch is in effect, in fact, according to the National Weather Service’s forecast. How much? Hard to say, of course, as always. Sounds like you should be able to get home from work safely before any snow hits (as long as you don’t work, say, Everett northward, which is expected to see snow first).
The National Weather Service’s latest “forecast discussion” has the closest analysis of what’s on the way, and while the Friday night snow likelihood is not PROJECTED to “accumulate” in the city, for Saturday they say “an inch or two” can’t be “rule(d) out.” Read the forecast discussion here (it’s usually updated three or four times daily – gets a bit technical but has better context); elsewhere, meteorologist Cliff Mass calls it a “difficult” forecast but says never mind about those short-lived wind worries. Even more than snow, the coming low temperatures have local government agencies worried (down to 20ish here Sunday morning!) – so they’re redistributing “protect yourself” type information like this.
Latest from the National Weather Service gets right down to, or should we say “up to,” elevation: Snow level in Seattle on Friday night, 400 feet. Read the forecast here. What’s particularly interesting is that a big event is happening at about 500 feet elevation Friday night, 
in the vicinity of the highest point in West Seattle (also the city’s highest point) – 35th/Myrtle, where Our Lady of Guadalupe invites one and all to its Community Christmas Tree Lighting (7 pm; 2007 tree at left). One more weather note – A comment on today’s earlier post provides a reminder that one of Seattle’s best-known non-TV meteorologists has his own website; here’s what Cliff Mass says about the upcoming wintriness.
Now that the end of the week is within sight, it’s time to start taking the forecasts REALLY seriously. Not only is cold weather, with possible snow, still said to be on the way, the National Weather Service says it’s going to get windy first – here’s an excerpt from the newest citywide forecast:
FRIDAY…WINDY. RAIN. HIGHS IN THE UPPER 30S TO MID 40S. SOUTH WIND 10 TO 20 MPH SHIFTING TO THE NORTHWEST 20 TO 30 MPH IN THE AFTERNOON.
FRIDAY NIGHT…RAIN AND SNOW. LOWS IN THE MID 30S.
SATURDAY…CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF SNOW SHOWERS. HIGHS IN THE 30S.
SATURDAY NIGHT…MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF SNOW SHOWERS. LOWS IN THE 20S.
SUNDAY THROUGH TUESDAY…PARTLY CLOUDY. HIGHS IN THE LOWER 30S. LOWS IN THE 20S
Safety information for “cold and icy weather” also has just been linked to the Regional Public Information Network website; read it here.
Another forecast update – The National Weather Service still is calling for possible snow Friday night and Saturday (hey! that’s Christmas Ship night at Seacrest, Lowman, and Alki!) but whether or not that happens, there’s definitely VERY cold air on the way – Sunday highs may barely get to freezing.
Always nice to have pix to share as the weekend comes to a close. That one actually was sent Thursday by WSB contributing photojournalist Christopher Boffoli, who says hummingbirds have been busy in his garden lately. Next, the beautiful sunrise from Saturday morning, while both of us were up early to cover special events (TR at the Kiwanis Pancake Breakfast, PS at the Rotary Shopping Spree) – actually got this scene looking northeast from the Southwest Community Center parking lot:
Later on Saturday, more of those unusual cloud formations gave David Hutchinson the chance for this postcard-perfect shot of the Alki Statue of Liberty:
David sent that along with this reminder from the Statue of Liberty Plaza Project about a holiday gift opportunity:
We would like to remind everyone that there are only a little over 3 weeks left to get your engraved brick for the Alki Statue of Liberty Plaza. We have received orders for over 290 bricks to date. All orders for this final sale must be mailed to Urban Sparks, our fiscal sponsor, no later than December 31st of this year.
It was originally planned to have the bricks engraved on site but we want to take advantage of a lower cost per brick by having them produced at the engraving company’s facility and trucked to Alki for installation. All orders will be submitted to them in January of 2009 and Seattle Parks and Recreation will be responsible for the installation in the spring. Due to this cost savings, the price has been reduced to $100 per brick. Everyone who purchased their bricks at the $150 price will be notified of their options. We have also begun our 3 for 2 Christmas Brick Sale.
For additional details see www.sealady.org or contact Eilene at 206-933-8352 or sslpp@msn.com. If you are interested in a bronze Tribute Plaque that will be installed along the front edge of the Plaza, see our website or contact Libby Carr at 206-938-8721 or libby@carrbiz.com.
Thanks to WSB contributing photojournalist Christopher Boffoli for capturing the beauty of tonight’s sunset, from Beach Drive.
Reminder, Christopher’s photography will be featured at Ama Ama (WSB sponsor) next Thursday night, 6-9 pm, on the inhouse bigscreens, during the Holiday Edition of the West Seattle Art Walk.
One year ago today – there’s really no elegant way to put this – West Seattle and environs got dumped on. Tons of rain. Second-wettest day on record: almost 4″. That photo above, by Kristin, was taken on Juneau between Delridge and 26th, as she reported in a memorable quote, “The creek has burst free!” This gives us a chance to mention something we forgot to report before — a couple months ago, a county employee contacted us asking for permission to use that photo for the cover of the King County Flood District Opportunity Fund application packet. We e-mailed Kristin to see if she’d mind; she said “sure,” and this was the result:
By the way, if you want to look back at the soggy memories of the December (’07) Deluge, including many photos shared by WSB’ers (including the iconic Allstar Car), we put all the coverage (including followups) in this archive, newest to oldest.
After the afternoon showers, a sunbreak just before sunset led to that view from Seacrest (and a nice splash of sunset color to the west). Wondering about tomorrow, for shopping, parade-watching, decorating, relaxing? Looks like more of the same.
Thanks to WSB’er “Hopey” for sending that photo of tonight’s sunset. The latest forecast suggests we may not see such nice weather for a few more days – Thanksgiving is now projected as cloudy with a chance of rain; as you know if you’ve lived here more than 5 minutes, it’s a tough place to forecast – so we checked to see what’s been written by the often-right-on-the-money meteorologists with whom we used to work at Channel 13 – tonight Walter Kelley writes (halfway down this page) “a few showers near the mountains or coast but no storm.” For the official kickoff to shopping season Friday, “mostly cloudy but pleasant” (the Holiday Happenings page will have the latest on early store openings, etc.; we’ll have that info finalized by tomorrow).
We use that beautiful photo – Saturday night’s sunset from the Duwamish Head vicinity, shared by David Hutchinson (thank you!) – as an excuse to mention that the latest forecast calls for Thanksgiving Day sunshine, highs in the upper 40s (and Friday sunshine too – great for West Seattle shopping, as well as for downtown parade-going, which is on our agenda).
Forecast suggests more fog in the morning, which means more foghorns (got a few notes about those today) and possibly more scenes like these: CL took the top photo from Luna (Anchor) Park – noting that it appeared the fog had made a nest for the downtown skyscrapers. Greg took the next photo from Jack Block Park, observing, “We thought the cranes looked like brontosaurii taking over Harbor Island!”
The cloud formation (altocumulus?) that made last night’s sunset so spectacular (our photo is here; Beach Drive Blog has pix here) went on to enable that memorable moonscape — thanks to David Hutchinson for sharing his photo, taken from Duwamish Head.
Just in case you were wondering, no major problems reported anywhere in West Seattle that we’ve found as a result of the rain and wind. The forecast still calls for everything to ebb by evening.
So says the latest “forecast discussion” from the National Weather Service – meaning we’re not likely to see/hear much blowing around till the wee hours. Quiet out there right now but the next bout of rain is still on the way too. 12:25 AM UPDATE: The wind arrived around 11:30 pm. Not that bad so far, though. 3:25 AM UPDATE: Still not too bad. 32 mph gust at the top of the hour at Alki Point. Newest “forecast discussion” says things are definitely calming down by tonight.
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