It’s the semi-calm before the next storm. This will be the post about what’s happening tonight – launching it here before your editor takes off for tonight’s school-closure hearing on Genesee Hill (see this post for district info on getting there safely) – but Team WSB will continue updating the weather situation throughout the night, and you are a HUGE part of the team; please continue to leave comments not just about road updates, but also what you’re seeing at stores, for example – anybody who’s NOT sold out of salt, say – or if it goes beyond a comment, please e-mail us (editor@westseattleblog.com).

6:53 PM UPDATE: Getting to Genesee Hill, no problem. But drivers are already starting to get (properly) cautious – very slow procession down the California hill through Gatewood toward Morgan Junction.

8:32 PM UPDATE: The National Weather Service’s presentation about upcoming systems, from a briefing today, is online if you want to take a look. Toplines – we may see anywhere from a trace to 5″ tomorrow. Maybe 2″ to 5″ tomorrow night. Sunday system may have more snow than whatever happens tomorrow. But of course, forecasting’s an art, not a science.

9:37 PM UPDATE: Tomorrow night’s Delridge District Council meeting has been canceled, per a note from Ron Angeles, with the expectation of worsening weather. And in fact, the new forecast discussion is out, with this outlook for the region:

PRECIPITATION WILL FIRST REACH THE AREA AROUND MIDNIGHT AND SPREAD SOUTHEAST ACROSS WESTERN WASHINGTON OVERNIGHT. BY MIDDAY WEDNESDAY THE ENTIRE FORECAST AREA SHOULD BE RECEIVING PRECIPITATION. PRECIPITATION WILL GRADUALLY TAPER OFF FROM NORTH TO SOUTH WEDNESDAY NIGHT AS THE SYSTEM MOVES OFF TO THE SOUTHEAST.

As for how much, they have all bets covered — a trace, to half a foot. So be ready for anything (or nothing). One thing for certain, though, it’s still subfreezing out there, so even so much as a drop of water out of those clouds, and it’s a snowflake. Just noticed while looking for weather radar, a record low was set for the second day in a row – 20, breaking the old record of 24 for this date.

10:30 PM NOTE: So far, the only school delays we’ve heard of for tomorrow are to the south – Highline Public Schools will start 2 hours late (as we posted in the afternoon updates) and Kennedy HS in Burien will start at 10:30. Everyone else seems to be waiting till early morning to decide – forecasters don’t seem to agree when we’ll get that next snow, so that seems to make as much sense as anything.

11:40 PM NOTE: SPU just sent the final word on those postponed trash pickups: Nothing more till next week. Bring ’em in. (A few more details in this separate post.)

Jeanne sent that picture with this:

What’s with this car? It has been stranded since Sunday night on the hill on 37th Ave SW (cross is Alaska) – Fairmount neighborhood. The sanding truck FINALLY came this AM to sand the road, but could only do 1/2 the hill because this car is still there. No one has come for it! Can the police tow it? Or move it at least to the side?!

It’s a blue Kia Spectra, License plate: (starts with 521).

With all the snow that is due to hit us again tomorrow, we need to get this car moved so the sanding truck can get to the rest of this hill! People are trying to navigate around it!

If you are the owner – please come claim your car. You can drive down the hill now!

(refresh and scroll down for the latest info/pictures)

(Closure sign atop Alaska hill west of 44th, home to TV live shots earlier)
Morning updates and comments can be found here, but now it’s time to kick off afternoon coverage. Just got a text (all methods of contacting WSB are here) from Hopey (thank you!), who found Sno-Melt at NAPA, 4th and Dawson (South Seattle), 50-pound box for $44, “maybe a dozen left.” Also if you haven’t seen it yet, please see this post about city trying to get to side streets today. More to come, including photos from co-publisher Patrick‘s trip to The Junction, which he reports is bustling with shoppers (shop now before the weather goes south; as for WHEN it will go south, tomorrow morning SEEMS to be the forecasts’ semi-consensus).

1:30 PM UPDATE: Walk All Ways at Alaska/California is bare:

But the back lots are a little icy/dicey.

UPDATE 2:18: TR is out checking the streets; she’ll post updates in the comments.

3:53 PM UPDATE: Back! Been almost all over West Seattle, except for Alki (didn’t get closer to the beach than California Way/Harbor with a side stop at Seacrest). Also to White Center. One, we can say that SALT is hard to come by in any form; even Walgreens at 35th/Morgan is out of plain ol’ table salt. McLendon in White Center (as we wrote in comments) didn’t get that shipment they were hoping for – not as of our visit an hour and a half ago, anyway. Around both West Seattle and White Center, many streets – with just a few exceptions – are wet and passable, but watch out when night falls. (The biggest exception – Wildwood past Endolyne, leading to Fauntleroy past the ferry dock and Lincoln Park, so dry and bare it resembled the downtown streets we drove last night.) Got a note from the school district about tonight’s Genesee Hill school-closure hearing – am posting it separately. It includes some road and sidewalk condition info for those attending. Here’s the link.

4:12 PM UPDATE: New forecasts are out. Still calling for snow tomorrow – likely starting very early morning hours, continuing for much of the day, maybe up to 2 inches in the city. Now, adding a few pix we took during our travels the past couple hours – this is Trenton looking west from Westwood Village:

Note the dampness that may well refreeze – common on many “secondary arterials” we traveled as well as north half of California. Conversely, looking west on Trenton from 35th, the classic Icy Side Street of Death (as coined by Mona):

On the northeast corner of that same intersection, a snowperson:

Southwest of there, here’s the California SW curve between Fauntleroy Church (WSB sponsor) and The Hall at Fauntleroy:

That whole stretch from 35th to the ferry dock was in decent shape, though the shadier portion closer to 35th is likely to reglaze after dark.

4:34 PM UPDATE: As everybody braces for the likely snow by morning, the information’s going to start flooding in again. This is part of a buses/county roads news release just in from King County Transportation:

King County Metro Transit is planning on chaining most of its buses for the Wednesday morning commute, and warns bus riders that service could be delayed by the weather conditions throughout the day – particularly in outlying areas of East and Southeast King County.

Many buses may be on snow routing, if not for the morning commute then by midday and late afternoon. Metro may have to switch to snow routes in some locations with little notice. So, the best way to stay on top of the reroutes is to check the adverse weather information on Metro Online at www.kingcounty.gov/metro, or call the Customer Information Office at (206) 553-3000.

Bus riders are reminded to:

Be patient. Buses are not always on schedule in snowy or icy conditions. And, increased ridership during bad weather can result in crowded buses and a longer-than-usual wait on the phone for the Customer Information Office;
Dress warmly for the walk to the bus stop, expect delays, and wear appropriate footwear for the weather;
Head for bus stops on main arterials or at major transfer points such as park-and-ride lots, transit centers, or shopping centers; and
Riders should wait at bus stops at the very top or very bottom of hills, because buses are often unable to stop for passengers on inclines.

And of course, the county is again reminding motorists to be prepared for winter driving. That means: having plenty of gas in the car; driving with all season tires, chains and warm clothing; and please don’t abandon your vehicle in the middle of travel lanes.

4:57 PM UPDATE: We will keep this post going till about 5:30, after which we’ll start up the evening post. A couple notes before things get too crazy (again, the next snow isn’t due till early morning): If you were planning on attending the WSB Forum members’ holiday party that was postponed Sunday because of the icy roads, member Soclwrkrinmotn is volunteering to pick up the donations – they were for some really great causes, and this weather is making matters even worse for local people in need — check out this forum thread to get the details. You can use the forums’ new Private Message (PM) feature to contact him directly. Also, the Nature Consortium has canceled its Friday afternoon free monthly West Duwamish Greenbelt hike, anticipating the weather won’t be terribly conducive. Reminder, if you cancel or change an event or schedule – that includes school closures/delays – please e-mail, call, etc. to let us know so we can share the info – all our contact info is here.

5:31 PM UPDATE: Highline Public Schools (White Center southward) plans a 2-hour delay tomorrow morning that could become a closure if weather worsens. It’s listed on schoolreport.org along with other updates. Also, a plea just out of the WSB inbox:

To those who are buying up all the snow-melting salt in Seattle.

1 bag has lasted me 3-4 years. True Value got 500 bags last night and were out by noon today.c’mon people.a little goes a long way.you don’t need 10 bags!!! (the “per person” limit at the True Value hardware store). try thinking about others’ needs as well as your own!

Hutch

Or at least, if you have some to share, offer to your neighbors too? P.S. One more note before we fold up this post and move to an “evening” edition – White Center-related news and photos are being posted, as available, at partner site White Center Now (whitecenternow.com) so if you know anyone in that area, you might invite them to check the site from time to time, or post comments on what’s happening where they are.

(this post covered Tuesday morning; go here for ongoing Tuesday afternoon updates)

(latest image from city camera pointing east on The Bridge; refresh for updated image)

(latest image from city camera at Fauntleroy/Alaska, pointing NE; refresh for updated image)
First, to mention again the school delays we first reported last night:
Seattle Public Schools, 2 hours late (see the district website)
Highline Public Schools, 2 hours late (per district website)
Hope Lutheran will start at 10:30 am
Seattle Lutheran High School will start at 10
On Vashon, everything’s regular schedule except McMurray Middle School, which will start 3 hours late, with a bus meeting “commuter students” on the 10:20 am ferry from Fauntleroy
Kennedy HS (Burien) will start 2 hours late
West Seattle Montessori will start on time.
West Seattle Christian Preschool is closed for the day.

Now, some other links for reference:

WSB Traffic page with additional cameras/links relevant to West Seattle commuters
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
WSDOT trouble spots via Twitter
Washington State Ferries “service bulletins”
Live 911 log for Seattle fire/medic calls

6:18 AM UPDATE: Commute report from Scott C: “Driving to Everett today was uneventful. 35th still has some icy places as expected. West Seattle Bridge was de-iced and was not a problem at all. … Saw one sanding truck near Morgan/35th, but it was parked. Airport road in Everett is an icy mess.” The forecast updated around 4 am as usual, and now it says:

TONIGHT…MOSTLY CLOUDY. A CHANCE OF SNOW LATE. LOWS IN THE 20S. SOUTH WIND 5 TO 15 MPH AFTER MIDNIGHT.

WEDNESDAY…SNOW. SNOW ACCUMULATION OF 1 TO 2 INCHES. HIGHS IN THE 30S. SOUTHWEST WIND 5 TO 15 MPH.

6:30 AM UPDATE: Metro has updated its list of buses on “adverse weather” reroutes. Shorter than yesterday. 37, 53, 125. Also, the 128 “will not enter SSCC campus.”

6:40 AM UPDATE: Two reminders, from info first reported Monday: Seattle Public Schools told WSB they’re going ahead with the closure hearing at 6:30 pm tonight at Genesee Hill (Pathfinder K-8 building; the list of those signed up to speak is here); Seattle Public Utilities said trash trucks would try again today to pick up in West Seattle, after postponing yesterday’s pickups because of the icy side streets, but if you come home and your trash hasn’t been picked up, just bring it in till next Monday.

8:58 UPDATE: Commute report from Sharonn: Traffic is moving, but moving at a crawl down Avalon and on The Bridge.

9:19 AM UPDATE: Sheila e-mailed to say that despite what the Metro list says, the 125 is NOT on reroute (though, like the 128, it’s not going onto the South Seattle Community College campus).

9:52 AM UPDATE: Marco e-mailed to say there’s a fire truck blocking the right lane of 35th southbound at Morgan. (There’s no specific incident there so may just be an inspection or other stop.)

10:12 AM UPDATE: We’re asking SDOT for an official response on why side streets aren’t sanded/plowed, since so many are asking. We have linked to the official routes before; find that link again here. Also, there is an FAQ about snow and ice removal on the SDOT site here; it includes this passage:

Our 27 trucks with sanders and snowplows must take care of 1,531 lane miles of arterial streets. Once the snow stops and we are comfortable with the condition of the arterial streets, we may be able to take care of residential streets on a request-basis. However, many residential streets are too narrow for our plows to work in them safely.

11:04 AM UPDATE: KOMO‘s Mark Miller is at 44th and Alaska next to a closure sign. That would be the Alaska hill heading west. Satellite picture moments later shows moisture definitely on the way. Just stepped outside to get this photo looking north on California from Thistle – the unplowed “side street” stub of Cali is in the foreground:

11:16 AM UPDATE: We just read the latest “forecast discussion” from the National Weather Service. They believe the metro area snow will start tomorrow (Wednesday) morning – but maybe not be as heavy as a second dose Wednesday NIGHT. Read more here. For those who have been following meteorologist Cliff Mass‘s online writings, his post from just before 6 am talks about 4 am-4 pm snow tomorrow – and reminds us there’s another system coming in over the weekend.

11:45 AM UPDATE: Co-publisher Patrick is back from hitting a few local streets (he’s going back out and will come back with pix next time). He says Thistle east of 35th is “ugly.” Avalon and even steep Yancy (past Stor-More [WSB sponsor] and on to Allstar) are fine. Still looks bad down side streets, but many main routes look good.

11:50 AM UPDATE: This will be a separate post in a moment. Just got a response from Rick Sheridan at SDOT re: the residential-street problem. Here’s that link. We’ll also be starting the Tuesday afternoon weather post within the hour, will make a note here when that happens.

12:13 PM UPDATE: We’ll be checking next with Seattle Public Utilities re: the trash prognosis – heard a TV report that said they were “trying” again but not sure if that’s really from a new update (there’s no new news release out).