Rain, wind, and rising mercury — nature’s great de-icers. That’s SW Sullivan looking east and uphill from California SW (map); compare that to this view from 25 hours earlier:

Since the weather situation SEEMS to be calming down, we will just keep this one post going for weather-related updates into the afternoon and evening – if by any chance anything snowy/icy does HAPPEN to erupt, we’ll change the plan, but for now we’re tapering down. More to come, as weather-related info arrives.

2:32 PM NOTE: Somebody asked in comments, so what happened to all that snow? As you likely snow, it hit hard in Snohomish, Skagit, Whatcom counties. But in the latest forecast discussion (a new one should be out by 4 or so), National Weather Service forecasters are still fairly certain some is heading this way:

AFTER SUNSET…COLDER AIR ALOFT SPREADS IN AS TODAY’S WEATHER SYSTEM
MOVES SOUTH. THIS SHOULD BRING A CHANGEOVER BACK TO SNOW FOR EVERYONE. THE FOCUS OF CONCERN THIS EVENING WILL BE ON A BAND OF SNOW THAT FIRST DEVELOPS OVER THE NORTH SOUND EARLY THIS EVENING. MODELS POINT TO THIS FEATURE UNANIMOUSLY. HEAVY SNOWFALL AMOUNTS ARE LIKELY WITHIN THIS FEATURE…PARTICULARLY IN THE EVERETT AREA AND EAST ALONG THE HIGHWAY 2 CORRIDOR TO THE CASCADES. THIS BAND OF HEAVY SNOW WILL THEN SINK SOUTH INTO KING COUNTY BY LATE EVENING WITH MOST OF THE SEATTLE METRO AREA’S 1 TO 3 INCHES OF ACCUMULATION COMING BETWEEN 7 PM AND 1 AM.

Take it with a grain of, well, rock salt, if you wish, but that’s what they’re saying. Cliff Mass has posted an update too.

5:10 PM UPDATE: Back on commute watch. Very windy now. Still above freezing. We’ll be heading to Sodo shortly for tonight’s School Board meeting (though weather-related updates will also continue here) so we’ll see the commute route in the opposite direction, if anything’s awry along the way. So far all the road bulletins from the state are focusing on the north Sound, where as mentioned earlier, they got smacked this time. The afternoon metro-area forecast includes:

TONIGHT…SNOW SHOWERS…MIXED WITH RAIN SHOWERS EARLY THIS EVENING. SNOW ACCUMULATION 1 TO 3 INCHES. LOWS IN THE MID 20S TO LOWER 30S. SOUTHWEST WIND 10 TO 15 MPH.

THURSDAY…MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF SNOW SHOWERS. AN ADDITIONAL INCH OR SO OF ACCUMULATION POSSIBLE THROUGH MID MORNING. HIGHS IN THE LOWER 30S. SOUTHWEST WIND TO 10 MPH.

THURSDAY NIGHT…MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF SNOW SHOWERS. LOWS 16 TO 23. NORTHWEST WIND TO 10 MPH.

5:50 PM UPDATE: Smooth sailing from West Seattle to Sodo. Haven’t seen people drive that fast in … days. Radio forecasters still saying … well … the city might see a flake, or two, or more. Post a comment if you see one! Here’s where it IS snowing — Las Vegas (photos here) — most Las Vegas airport traffic is being shut down, according to one infostream we’re watching.

(this coverage concluded around 1 pm; click here to go to Wednesday afternoon weather coverage)

The 4 am forecast puts a Winter Weather Advisory into effect until 10 am tomorrow. Who — and where — will see the first flakes? Till they fall, here are some hopefully helpful links:

SchoolReport.org (for Seattle Public Schools status, among others, including Highline and Vashon)
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

Holy Rosary sent e-mail to say that their school is open and on time.

West Seattle Montessori is open and on time with the possibility of an early dismissal if it starts snowing.

West Seattle Christian Preschool is closed.

The Tilden School is open and on time.

9:12 AM UPDATE: In case you’re at work outside West Seattle now and wondering – no flakes yet. Up north – different story; just saw a snow total report go by on TV – one spot in Skagit County has already had half a foot. Meantime, SDOT has sent an update with a reminder that, as we reported yesterday, you can call in about an iced-over non-arterial:

The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) proactively positioned crews around the city this morning, with light snow forecast, ready to respond to snow and ice on major arterial streets if needed. During the day, many crews will proceed with normal street maintenance activities while continuing to carefully monitor roadway conditions. Heavier snowfall is forecast for late this afternoon. A full contingent of crews and snow/ice equipment will be deployed in the field in advance of the evening commute.

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