West Seattle Blog…

West Seattle sky: Solar eclipse Sunday; will we see it?

Sunday is looking bigger all the time. It starts with the West Seattle 5K run-walk (Alki, 9 am; register 1-4 pm tomorrow at West Seattle High School or 8 am Sunday at the race site if you’re not signed up already) – continues with Seattle Summer Streets (aka “car-free day”) along the heart of Alki from 11 am-5 pm (growing list of activities!) – and then, how about a partial solar eclipse peaking in early evening? (The weather’s not too promising now but you know how quickly things can change.) Our partners at the Seattle Times have some NW-geared info; more details, including links to important info about safe eclipse-viewing, are on Space.com. (And of course West Seattleite-written AlicesAstroInfo.com has lots of info too.)

Seen the ‘supermoon’? Go take a look! And tidewalk tomorrow

(Thanks to Brian Coy for the photo! Added 10:49 pm)
9:06 PM: The sky’s clear enough to see the “supermoon” on the rise in the east – go take a look! It’ll have an orange cast until it gets a bit higher in the sky.

(Thanks to Danny Vinci for this photo shared via the WSB Facebook page)
9:21 PM: It’s losing the orange cast as it continues to rise – still a beautiful bright full moon, though. And as previously noted, the tides are getting interesting too. Even today, it was a notable minus tide - Doug B shared this photo via Flickr:

Tomorrow’s low tide will be even lower (minus three feet just after 11:30 am) – and Seattle Aquarium volunteer beach naturalists will make their debut south of Alki Point and at Lincoln Park, too – locations and schedule here.

West Seattle water and sky: Extreme tides, and ‘supermoon’

A few bonus reasons to go outside the next several days/nights … very low and very high tides, plus the “supermoon”! The latter arrives at moonrise Saturday evening – Space.com has details. And along with this month’s full moon come some very high and very low tides. Today’s low tide at midmorning – when we took the cameraphone photo above, during a brief Alki visit – was a modestly low minus tide, but as our favorite monthly tide table shows, the lows get lower over the next few days, bottoming out at -3.4 just after noon on Monday (one of the lowest daytime low tides of the year). At the same time, the high tides are higher than usual, topping out at 12 feet (or slightly past that) Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday evenings.

SIDE NOTE: Any time you are interested in sunrise/set, moonrise/set, and tide information, that’s part of what we provide (automated so you can trust it’s always updated) on the WSB Weather page – follow that link OR click the “Weather” tab below the header on any WSB page.

West Seattle wildlife: Bird with a view

No one can resist the downtown-skyline view from West Seattle – not even the noble and ever-busy crow. Thanks to Darren Pilon for sharing the photo. P.S. While rain is on its way back, the forecast includes some weekend sun.

West Seattle weather: Sunny now, but earlier…

Thanks to Debbie Pierce for sharing the photo, as stormy weather moved through – and by – this afternoon. (She was looking toward Bainbridge from Alki Beach.) The forecast says there’s still a chance of thundershowers, but overall, it’s a lot nicer now than it was earlier, so come on back home and get out to tonight’s two big events, Food for Art and the West Seattle Art Walk.
ADDED 8 PM: Thanks to Debra Salazar Herbst for this view of the sunset!

West Seattle weather: Tumultuous Tuesday evening

Sage shared that photo, saying: “Turns out 30th & Thistle is somewhere over the rainbow!” That rainbow, you probably know, followed an intense hail* shower about an hour ago. According to the National Weather Service’s latest “forecast discussion,” tomorrow will bring more scattered showers mixed with sunbreaks. Possibly related to the downpour, there’ve been at least two crashes in the past hour, including one at California/Charlestown that we’re told is still affecting traffic in the area. Matthew sent this photo from that scene:

Meantime, back to the rainbow – Mike Gerber shared this view of a double rainbow seen from Puget Ridge, on his property with the old orchard house mentioned here previously:

And from High Point, Wendy Hughes-Jelen shares this view:

If you missed the hail … here’s a view on the backyard bricks at WSB HQ in Upper Fauntleroy:

ADDED 9:25 PM: A few more photos – first, Don Brubeck captured the squall as it headed downtown:

And John Hinkey, northeast of The Junction, got an Alaska Airlines jet, rainbow-bound:

Probably another photo or two to add later .. but in the meantime, thanks again, everybody!

West Seattle weather: Bit more winter left in spring?

From Upper Alki, JayDee caught tonight’s sunset – almost a surprise, since it followed an increasingly cloudy afternoon that had put a stop to a surprisingly sunny morning. Speaking of surprises, there’s a tiny chance we might get a bit more wintry weather, as the experts are watching both moisture and cold air (see the National Weather Service forecast discussion, as well as WSB’er reader/commenter/meteorologist Patrick Kelly with a heads-up via the WSB Facebook page. We’ll just have to see what happens in the hours ahead …

6:10 AM: Looks like some other areas around Western Washington got snow. Nothing here that we’ve seen or heard.

Spring arrives tomorrow! West Seattle equinox-sunset event

(March 2011 WSB photo)
It happens four times a year and it wouldn’t be the same without NASA Solar System Ambassador Alice Enevoldsen … an equinox/solstice sunset watch. The spring equinox is late tomorrow night, so Alice is inviting everyone to watch tomorrow’s sunset at Solstice Park (uphill from the tennis courts at Fauntleroy/Webster; here’s a map):

It’s time for the 12th seasonal sunset watch (We’re at 3 years of these, folks)!!

When: March 19, 2011 at 7:05 pm (so come at 6:45 pm)

Actual sunset is supposed to be at 7:22, but at the summer solstice we noticed that the Sun set about 10 minutes earlier than the USNO says it does, so I’ve moved the time of our sunset watch up so we don’t miss it. I added another 5 minutes for the tall trees of Lincoln Park blocking our view. In Autumn the timing seemed to line up correctly – what will it do this time?

Where: Solstice Park – all the way up the hill from the tennis courts (or, if you’re not in Seattle, wherever you have a view of the western horizon!)

Who: Everyone welcome, as usual.

Come watch the spring equinox sunset at Solstice Park in West Seattle on Monday the 19th. We’ll see if the sunset lines up with the placed marker (it did for summer, but we weren’t sure in autumn or winter). I’ll be there even if it is cloudy because sometimes the Sun peeks through just as it begins to set, but if it is driving rain or sleet I’m staying home with some hot tea!

If you’re interested – here’s the timing of various celestial events from Seattle, courtesy of the U.S. Naval Observatory Astronomical Applications Department:

Click to read the rest of Spring arrives tomorrow! West Seattle equinox-sunset event…

West Seattle weekend scene: Snowy view with history

One more photo from this morning’s snow – Mike Gerber shares what he describes as “a photo of snow falling on the last remains of the oldest fruit orchard in Seattle. The building in the foreground is the original farmhouse, built in the 1880s, and stands as a reminder of the thousands of Eastern European immigrants that tended these vast orchards that once stretched from Pigeon Point all the way past Burien.

The site is on Puget Ridge, as described on a website Mike has for a house he’s selling nearby.

West Seattle weather: Friday rainbow; Saturday … snow?

Alki-residing author/chef Kim O’Donnel shared that photo around 2 pm, and it drew oohs and aahs around the region; we put it on the WSB Facebook page, and our friends at KING 5 circulated it online too. Is it the work of pre-St. Patrick’s Day leprechauns? Actually, the forecast suggests that instead of a pot of gold, tomorrow morning we might see a bit of snow (yes, again).

ADDED 10:11 PM: Thanks to Bob A in Admiral for sharing the vivid photo of tonight’s sunset!

West Seattle weather: Arbor Heights/Seola outage; downpour

(Scroll down for updates on the outage and other weather woes)

8:09 AM: Looks like another round of wild weather moving through. And while we’re not sure yet if it’s weather-related, Martha in Arbor Heights reports a power outage. She’s at the end of 35th near Seola Park and says it went out about an hour ago. The outage is not on the City Light map and we haven’t reached them for confirmation yet, but she says that when she called it in, they told her 106 homes were affected. Meantime, the National Weather Service has a “short-term” forecast alert for heavy rain, up to half an inch an hour, this morning.

8:35 AM UPDATE: Not far from Martha’s location at the end-of-35th bend, a tree on SW Seola Lane (map) is apparently to blame for the outage, according to Tbone‘s note in comments and a 6 am “wires down” listing on the 911 log.

9:41 AM UPDATE: Added a photo of the tree trouble at Seola Lane/Seola Beach Drive. City Light’s Scott Thomsen, meantime, confirmed the outage and said it should be fixed by early afternoon. He also says the SCL outage map is fixed now.

10:05 AM UPDATE: Massive downpour for the past few minutes, in line with the Weather Service’s warning (above), though a little past their timeframe.

10:55 AM UPDATE: Sage K sends word that the Delridge onramp to the West Seattle Bridge is flooded again and should be avoided. We’re going to check that out.

11:56 AM UPDATE: Seattle Public Utilities crew was on scene at the Delridge ramp puddle, clearing the drain, when we arrived. (Besides the crew members in our photo, they had a vacuum truck there, too.) Meantime, we have an update from City Light on the Seola outage:

Crew is on site. They’ve isolated the damage to restore most customers. 23 are still out. Two spans of wire are down. Estimate for restoration of service for the remaining customers is about 2:30 pm.

West Seattle weather: Scenes from a flaky day

We lost count at three blasts of snow/hail today – at least one, followed by sunshine. Thanks to everyone who shared photos; we’re finally getting a chance to check them out, and this is the first one we wanted to share – Michaela took photos during the West Seattle High School soccer game, which included sun as well as snow! (According to the scoreboard published by our partners at the Seattle Times, Ingraham beat WSHS 11-0.)

ADDED: JayDee‘s view of the “storm train,” seen from Upper Alki:

From The Junction this afternoon, the snow shower that hit just before 4 pm:

And not far away, WSB contributor Katie Meyer caught the sights and sounds of the afternoon’s hail:

Still a chance of snow showers till late Wednesday morning, say the forecasters.

West Seattle weather: Bit of snow in winter’s final days

(The requisite “proof it snowed” video, shot at 9:30 am)
ORIGINAL 6:33 AM REPORT: Spring officially arrives next Monday night. Winter isn’t giving up without a fight. A little more snow dusted the area overnight; we’ve had reports via Facebook and Twitter, from Admiral to Arbor Heights, and beyond. Let us know if there’s any actually on the ground where you are; it apparently snowed a little more heavily in points south and east. A “special weather statement” is in effect and warning that some snow and/or hail is still possible during what the National Weather Service calls “a showery, cool day” ahead.

9:04 AM UPDATE: Getting a notable snow shower here in Upper Fauntleroy at the moment.

West Seattle Weather Watch update: Still unsettled

6:14 AM UPDATE: If you look at the regional map on the National Weather Service‘s Seattle home page, you’ll notice various types of weather alerts are in effect almost everywhere – but NOT here in the city. Nonetheless, the newest forecast says it’ll be very windy, to say the least (and you might already have heard evidence of that in the very early morning hours). As always, we’ll keep watch through the day, with updates if things go beyond general blusteriness. (And if you have anything to report – 206-293-6302, any time, text or voice; thank you!)

8:37 AM UPDATE: As commenter/meteorologist Patrick notes, a wind advisory is now up for our area. See it here.

9:08 PM UPDATE: The wind advisory expired this afternoon without anything serious happening. But the weather is still unsettled, and some snow might be mixed in with overnight/morning showers. Here’s the newest forecast.

West Seattle weather: ‘Genuinely blustery’? Maybe Monday

11:21 AM: We’ve been watching the National Weather Service outlooks since the local NWS first issued a “special weather statement” on Friday; the newest version technically includes our area, but if you read the fine print, the strong winds discussed for tomorrow are mostly expected out on the ocean coast. However, this morning’s regional “forecast discussion” says that as the approaching “cold front” gets closer – “This looks like the sort of system that will actually give something more like … a genuinely blustery day for all of Western Washington Monday.” If that holds through the next few forecast updates (three to four times daily), they’ll issue a wind advisory, so be on the lookout.

5:38 PM UPDATE: The “special weather statement” has been dropped because, for now, NWS says that our area doesn’t look to be in for much more than typical March bluster. So far.

West Seattle scene: Full moon rising (and aurora update)

Thanks to Cheryl Nellis for sharing her photo of the full moon rising tonight. If you’ve been keeping an eye on the sky because of the predictions of aurora visibility – Spaceweather.com explains tonight why that didn’t happen last night, but might still be in the cards (that link includes an amazing photo from Iceland).

West Seattle sky: Super sunset – and maybe auroras later?

Thanks to Emily Austin for the photo of tonight’s super sunset – apparently with “light pillar.” Gives us a reason to mention something you might want to look for tonight and tomorrow, if the sky is clear enough – local expert Alice Enevoldsen of Alice’s Astro Info mentioned it in e-mail, citing Spaceweather.com: Activity from a solar flare is expected to “reach our planet” just before 10:30 tonight, and that could mean auroras (aka Northern Lights) “at all latitudes,” Alice notes. We’ll be watching!

West Seattle snow: ‘Winter weather advisory’; morning commute

(Refresh for latest pic from WS Bridge & 1st Ave. S. Bridge cams, more on the WSB Traffic page)
More snow showers are possible by mid-morning, according to the National Weather Service’s “Winter Weather Advisory.” So far, no major commute effects of the snowfall we covered overnight, though; no changes for area schools, either. We’ll keep tabs on conditions in the next few hours and update as needed.

West Seattle Weather Watch: Early-early-morning snow

1:04 AM: A wave of it is moving through, headed north to south, west to east. Seeing it yet?

1:30 AM UPDATE: It’s been here for about 10 minutes – and as one commenter describes it, it’s more like snow-sleet – you can hear it. Just added video.

1:55 AM UPDATE: Going on an hour now, still snowing. The photo above shows a non-arterial street near WSB HQ, with the snow sticking – but it’s deceptive – without cars passing, you can hear meltwater going into the storm drains.

2:56 AM UPDATE: No longer snowing. Maybe half an inch accumulated (we’re at about 330 feet up) on the cars and the plants; the street-sticking snow didn’t stick around for long. We’ll see in a few hours what the morning commute’s like, though – we’ll be covering that in a separate story.

Update: Weather alert canceled, no snow likely after all

(Photo by Laura James, added 6:21 pm; click for larger image)
The last few warnings about possible metro-area snow didn’t lead to anything much for West Seattle – one or two quick bursts of flakes – but nonetheless, we need to tell you that our area is covered by a “Special Weather Statement“ that the National Weather Service issued this afternoon, regarding a “strong cold front” late tonight into tomorrow … maybe even some Tuesday morning icing before things warm up.

9:23 PM UPDATE: The “Special Weather Statement” is still in effect, but weather analyst Cliff Mass‘s latest assessment has led him to publish an update titled “Snow Threat Evaporates.”

10:06 PM UPDATE: The alert is now canceled. The NWS’s latest “forecast discussion” explains it, as does WS-residing meteorologist Patrick in comments – the cold temps and the moisture just aren’t synching up in the outlook any more.

West Seattle Weather Watch: One more chance of snow

Just so you’re not surprised if it happens this time – after today’s flurries … weather experts are talking about the possibility of up to an inch of snow in the morning-rush-hour vicinity tomorrow, before things finally warm up a bit. This has been mentioned in a few places; for one, comment-section fans know Patrick the meteorologist, who brought it up on the WSB Facebook page an hour ago; it’s in the late-night National Weather Service “forecast discussion,” too.

West Seattle Weather Watch: Early-morning snow shower

3:38 AM: Heard the wind, looked out the window – and saw it was accompanied by snow. Light at first, but a bit more serious at the moment.

3:44 AM: Minutes later, it’s over. Still chilly enough to see showers like that off and on for a day or two, says the forecast.

7:20 AM: Just had another flurry. Nothing stuck, though.

West Seattle Weather Watch: Winter may not be done yet

Thanks to Bob A for the glorious view of the Olympic Mountains, Puget Sound, and a state ferry, photographed today from North Admiral. Though we escaped the snow that hit some Western Washington areas over the weekend, the National Weather Service suggests another chance is heading this way – see the latest “forecast discussion” here. P.S. The spring equinox is just three weeks away – 10:14 pm our time on March 19th.