West Seattle Weather Watch: Saturday morning snow & surf!

(SCROLL DOWN for updates)

(Car hood, 5:10 am)
5:02 AM: What’s falling right now – at least where we are, on the hill east of Lincoln Park – started around 4:45 as something more like sleet, and now it’s intensified to wet snow. Until now, the snow reports had all been from points north, but commenters spotted renegade flakes in the last few hours, and the temperature’s been falling, now 34 at Sea-Tac.

5:31 AM: It’s all but stopped. The “winter weather advisory” remains in effect until 11 am.

7:25 AM: More snow since then, and everything is covered. Photo above this line is from Tiana at Youngstown Flats (WSB sponsor) in North Delridge. And from Jason in Admiral:

What’s it like where you are? More pics welcome at editor@westseattleblog.com – thanks!

7:47 AM: Above, looking north at California from Thistle. SDOT tweets, “… Road temps still high so no accumulations yet. Crews will check and treat roads as needed.” The forecast still says the snow chances should end in a few hours.

9 AM: Some blue sky out there! Breezy too. Beware slick roads – there’s a multi-car crash on the eastbound bridge right now, which our tipster says is VERY slick. Thanks to everyone who’s sent photos – Linda shares this view of Lincoln Park’s frosted forest:

From Puget Park on Pigeon Point, Ben shares this photo of a snow fan:

Ben observes, “Not enough to sled but sure is pretty.” Meantime, Alki has wind-and-high-tide-fueled waves again this morning:

Thanks to Cheney for the photo. Now, our first snowperson photo:

Reagan in Fauntleroy shared that with a hearty “Go, Dawgs!”

9:29 AM: The SFD response for the bridge crash closed quickly, indicating no serious injuries.

2:11 PM NOTE: Thanks to everyone who’s been sharing photos, particularly of the spectacular surf and spray at Alki – we’re putting together a separate galley – and we’ll start a pm weather story, including information on SDOT’s plans for the roads, given the below-freezing temps. (We did travel some of the main routes earlier and noted that aside for a few shady spots, they’re mostly dry.)

27 Replies to "West Seattle Weather Watch: Saturday morning snow & surf!"

  • CanDo November 29, 2014 (6:21 am)

    Snowing like crazy at the Alaska Junction. Starting to stick on roofs and cars.

  • MMB November 29, 2014 (7:07 am)

    WSB, we love how you are always on top of things, but also hope you get enough sleep!

  • Wsrez November 29, 2014 (7:27 am)

    Looks like a blizzard near us- Fauntleroy Hill- lots of snow on the ground.

  • Dapuddin November 29, 2014 (7:32 am)

    Think safe thoughts for my Uber driving spouse. It sure is pretty though…

  • Dapuddin November 29, 2014 (7:33 am)

    Errrr… That should read daPuffin, not daPuddin. LOL,

  • JO November 29, 2014 (7:42 am)

    Breezy and snowing still in Arbor Heights! It’s so pretty!

  • kumalavula November 29, 2014 (8:00 am)

    was up early (when you’d posted the first signs of snow) and there was nothing here on western facing pigeon pt. went back to a warm bed and up again to a blanket of snow! even though we’d been warned, it was still a surprise. it’s since stopped coming down but nice to be able to appreciate it without having to go out IN IT to head to work.

  • Jan Van Pelt November 29, 2014 (8:04 am)

    Close to an inch on the trees and rooftops here in Lower Fauntleroy.

  • JayDee November 29, 2014 (8:08 am)

    Any idea on road conditions? Living on the hill is great until you need to drive off of it. There is supposed to be a hard freeze, and unless the wind evaporates the snow/water on the road, I’d like to get groceries while I can (more from want than need).

  • 22blades November 29, 2014 (8:42 am)

    West Seattle Bridge High Span is getting slick. I along w/ 2 other cars got sideways west bound by Delridge exit. Looks like the bridge was NOT sprayed.

  • Val Waite November 29, 2014 (8:48 am)

    East bound of WS bridge 3 car accident from ice! Be careful out there.

  • miws November 29, 2014 (9:01 am)

    Errrr… That should read daPuffin, not daPuddin.

    .

    Hey! What are ya doin’ typing with my fingers! ;-)

    .

    Mike

  • DaPuffin November 29, 2014 (9:18 am)

    Mike, that explains it!

  • seattletimebandit November 29, 2014 (9:22 am)

    3 car crash on the high bridge. Two right hand lanes. East bound.

    • WSB November 29, 2014 (9:31 am)

      Got it, thank you. The Seattle Fire response closed quickly, so at least nobody was seriously hurt. Can’t see it on the traffic cam – was it before the crest?

  • Chris W November 29, 2014 (9:31 am)

    Thank you 22blades. Glad you’re okay. Stay safe!

  • JayDee November 29, 2014 (9:52 am)

    OK: Good news is that most roads from Alki to Admiral are in good shape. People of course are still driving over the limit. Areas of Admiral and California have puddled water and if it doesn’t evaporate, will make these streets ice rinks tonight. Be careful, slow down, and watch for tree branches/debris.

  • miws November 29, 2014 (10:19 am)

    DaPuffin, I had actually made the “dd” instead of “ff” typo earlier this morning, in typing up a comment on Facebook! :-D

    .

    Mike

  • seattletimebandit November 29, 2014 (10:32 am)

    Just after, but it’s gone now. Very windy West bound on the west side of the crest. A strong nor’wester.

  • DaPuffin November 29, 2014 (10:38 am)

    Beware of black ice out there. Hubby says there are many slick spots.

  • Steven November 29, 2014 (10:43 am)

    anybody get video of the waves at Alki? very amazing this past half hour. logs getting tossed at and over the bulkhead along the promenade. Wonder how the bathhouse windows are doing?

    • WSB November 29, 2014 (11:13 am)

      We were there yesterday (had photos and video in our coverage) and going back shortly. Haven’t heard of any Bathhouse damage but will see first hand.

  • Diane November 29, 2014 (11:26 am)

    Is it really true, with all the weather forecasters telling us for 2 days about this snow/ice blast due Fri/Sat, no one prepped our bridge????? THIS is not a good sign for our upcoming winter transportation; who do we contact?

    • WSB November 29, 2014 (1:55 pm)

      Here’s the problem, and while I’m not quoting SDOT (we’ll check in on Monday), I would imagine this was the deal. It was pouring rain, you’ll recall, most of yesterday. If they put deicer on too much water, it just slops away, and that causes different trouble eventually. They also monitor road temps and those were way above freezing point.
      .
      (edit – I meant to post this BEFORE we went out – now have some info from CM Rasmussen that I will include in next weather update – my deicer theory was correct, but they had some granular salt.)

  • steven November 29, 2014 (11:54 am)

    just drove the bridge and back. Looks like it was well brined. No problem!!

  • Liz November 29, 2014 (12:00 pm)

    Two kitesurfers at Alki this morning, one guy got so much air I thought he’d fly away. And one crazy lone shirtless swimmer.

  • sam-c November 29, 2014 (2:08 pm)

    watch out for the wind and other fallen/ falling things. there was a large section of tree branches hanging over the on-ramp to WSB from Delridge. swerved around them to avoid getting scraped.
    Then later, a temp sign attached to the Ballard bridge came unattached in a big gust of wind and flew into the car in front of us.

Sorry, comment time is over.