WEST SEATTLE STORM WATCH: Saturday night updates; alert level reduced to ‘wind advisory’

(TO SEE OUR SATURDAY AFTERNOON COVERAGE, go here)

In case you missed the Periscope. Wind & waves. Downpour now, too. Stay home. pic.twitter.com/wBweq5fywq

— West Seattle Blog (@westseattleblog) October 16, 2016

(Our Twitter video from Emma Schmitz Viewpoint as the wind and waves kicked up before dusk)>

6:46 PM: The wind has arrived, and some big rain has too. We’ve just been out in it, starting in Delridge before sunset (checking on sandbag supplies at the Community Center – plenty now), then heading toward Beach Drive, where Seattle Fire was checking on boarders and kayakers (everyone accounted for), and stormwatchers were at Emma Schmitz Viewpoint. (added) Here’s a photo from Greg, with an overview of Constellation Park at about the same time, a mile north of Emma Schmitz:

It’s nasty out there in some areas – Arbor Heights was getting walloped while we were checking on something else. Now is definitely the time to stay home. We’re back at HQ, for now, to track storm effects through the night.

7:15 PM: Sounds a little calmer out there right now. Just a few scattered, small power outages in West Seattle so far (here’s the City Light map) – including the one Amber mentioned in comments, six customers in Puget Ridge.

7:43 PM: Via Twitter, the National Weather Service is cautiously saying that seems to have been the worst of it:

The threat for strongest winds –over northern areas, not metro area. The storm track does not favor Seattle area for damaging winds. #wawx

— NWS Seattle (@NWSSeattle) October 16, 2016

The next of the NWS’s four-times-a-day “forecast discussions” should be out within an hour and a half or so, for the latest on whether we can all stand down and get back to regular fall weather. One thing that escaped attention because of the wind worries, Friday set a rainfall record for October 14th in Seattle, 1.36 inches, almost twice the previous record (.77 in 1990). At the midpoint of October, the month has almost triple its average rainfall, 4.43 inches through yesterday (1.11 is “normal”).

9:04 PM: Just back from a north-to-south tour and … definitely not stormy. The rain returned a few minutes ago, not too intense, though. And to underscore it, the National Weather Service has canceled the “high wind warning” and swapped it for a lower-level “wind advisory” through early am. Meantime, we’ve received some great videos and photos from the brief burst of stormy weather earlier:

Time lapse, from Ethan Owens:

Waves at Constellation Park, from Scott Krager:

Seattle Fire crew off Beach Drive checking on boarders/kayakers, photo by Erik Bell:

Kerriann Gill caught the storm rolling in:

The storm rolling in @westseattleblog pic.twitter.com/Zi9QAaMiEs

— Kerriann Gill (@kerrikgill) October 16, 2016

(added) Texted to us – this clip of a sailboarder trying to get out of the water at Emma Schmitz Viewpoint:

9:58 PM: And here’s the NWS “forecast discussion” looking ahead. The next few days are expected to be showery but nothing like the record-setting rain of the past few days.

PigeonPoint October 15, 2016 (6:54 pm)

There is a LOT of standing water on the onramp to the WS bridge eastbound (from Avalon). Drive safe out there!

Chemist October 15, 2016 (7:08 pm)

Despite the frequent closures of the WSB and viaduct, when I get stuck in traffic and look out at the drain grates on the side of the road, they seem to have a lot of debris (and growing plants) suggesting they don’t get cleaned out during every closure. Maybe some day.
- WSB October 15, 2016 (7:12 pm)
  
  We found a clump of wide-blade grass growing out of ours today. Cleared the leaves but didn’t have the tools to root that out, but there’s a rumor we’ll have a dry day around midweek.

sam-c October 15, 2016 (6:57 pm)

i had kinda thought the storm was a no-show. then we went to watch the high-tide at constellation park along with everyone else; WOW. Then, drove home from dinner in Admiral around 6:40ish, and it was definitely more exciting. the storm’s here.

indoors October 15, 2016 (7:02 pm)

I think Q13 was also reporting from Emma Schmitz park. They reported that a wind surfer needed assistance getting back to shore. What’s crazy is the surfer ignored the Fire Depts request not to go out into the water.

WSB October 15, 2016 (7:07 pm)

All the TV stations were out along Beach Drive for their evening shows, mostly waiting for something to happen, and then the storm showed up. We were live on Periscope for a few minutes – I’m working on downloading the video for replay in this story, and you’ll see a sailboarder heading back out. Then after we moved on, initially to check on the reported wires-down call in Arbor Heights (it closed, and we turned around), we heard scanner traffic about yet another boarder (described as paddleboarder but more likely sail/kite) being checked on and accounted for.

Amber Hugill October 15, 2016 (7:04 pm)

Our powers out near 16th & Dawson…

WSB October 15, 2016 (7:13 pm)

Amber – Looks like you’re part of a six-customer outage. Thanks for the update – hope it’s back soon.

FireLT October 15, 2016 (7:22 pm)

Will everyone please just go home.

All those people on beach drive are blocking the response route of the fire department. They have already reassigned 2 runs to units farther away because the assigned units were blocked by “lookie loos”.

I’m sure they are out of the water now but why would you go out paddle boarding in this weather? It’s all fun and games until a firefighter dies trying to rescue you when you are doing something you should not be doing in the first place.

Stuart October 15, 2016 (7:29 pm)

So it that it? 10 minutes of rain & wind?

WSB October 15, 2016 (7:35 pm)

The 6 pm hour had more than 10 minutes. But that big storm band has since moved east.

AEL October 15, 2016 (7:31 pm)

Omg! The wind blew open the front door while the kids were in the bath. Didn’t notice because of bath noises. Now my entry way is flooded. Ha!

CJ October 15, 2016 (7:46 pm)

Still waiting for the brunt of the predicted storm to hit here in Gatewood. Had a 10 minute blast of wind and heavy rain at about 6:45pm and nothing since.

WSB October 15, 2016 (7:55 pm)

The National Weather Service (we’ve added this above) is starting to sound like “that was it” … in which case, yesterday was actually the worst of it.

Oakley34 October 15, 2016 (7:51 pm)

I guess the saying is the rain was sideways, but I swear in this case I saw some doing loop de loops…

RayWest October 15, 2016 (7:56 pm)

Only a little bit of wind around my house. Had dinner in Morgan Junction and relatively mild there around 6:00 – 7:00 pm. Glad it was much less than predicted.

What storm? October 15, 2016 (7:58 pm)

Most anticlimactic storm ever. Cliff Mass had me thinking that I should go build an ark or something.

Jort Sandwich October 15, 2016 (8:26 pm)

It’s not the first thing Cliff Mass has been wrong about.
Mike October 16, 2016 (7:54 am)

odd, his post at 4pm said it wasn’t going to be as big as originally stated.

H October 15, 2016 (8:09 pm)

Pretty sure I saw that lady with Todo in her bicycle basket peddling by as a huge gust of wind whipped around me. Not “end of days” but certainly a funky wind ;)

Pilsner October 15, 2016 (8:24 pm)

Meh, the threat was enough to make me pull the trigger on buying a generator/stick welder.

G Man October 15, 2016 (8:29 pm)

The wind knocked a plastic bucket off my outside table right onto the deck, scary!

Julia October 15, 2016 (8:29 pm)

What storm?

D October 15, 2016 (8:48 pm)

Video of kayakers off Alki Point just as the storm really came in.

https://youtu.be/DuIdfLWo0G0

Bradley October 15, 2016 (8:55 pm)

I’m so glad we didn’t get the hammering the original forecast said we may get. Here in Arbor Heights, so many misguided people have been cutting down healthy, mature trees for no good reason over the past few years that we can’t afford to lose any more from storms.

CSHS October 15, 2016 (8:56 pm)

Homecoming was cancelled for this?

Safeway shopper October 15, 2016 (9:12 pm)

Grocery shopping should be light on Sunday after all the panic buying today.

dsa October 15, 2016 (9:24 pm)

I’m okay it went north.

Mariem October 15, 2016 (9:36 pm)

Why the heck would folks kayak in this? It’s not fair to first responders.

Joe Szilagyi October 15, 2016 (10:16 pm)

We will rebuild.

What storm? October 15, 2016 (11:31 pm)

Joe, you are my new hero!

Al October 15, 2016 (11:14 pm)

What storm , really…

miws October 16, 2016 (5:27 am)

Glad to see all the “What storm?” comments, as opposed to “A large tree went down right on top of our house”, or, “My power’s been out for 12 hours now. How much longer, I wonder?”, or, “We lost a large limb off of our big old cedar. Fortunately no other damage, but looks like the rest of the tree is going to have to come down. Wonder if my insurance will cover that?”.

Mike

miws October 16, 2016 (6:54 am)

I should add, I’m not specifically talking about the comments under that username. Just the comments saying/alluding to the underwhelmingness of the storm. ;-)

Mike

DH October 16, 2016 (11:09 am)

I agree. Be happy we missed the bullet not complain that someone said it was likely coming but didn’t. Cliff Mass made it very clear about the possible changes because of how far out the storm was and the different forcasting models.