(This post is now closed and Sunday morning coverage is under way; go here to see coverage from earlier Saturday – SUNDAY CLOSURES/CHANGES: Farmers’ Market canceled – No church at Westside Unitarian – Admiral Sings Christmas postponed to 12/28 – No mule rides in The Junction BUT as of right now Santa pix ARE still on – POWER OUTAGE SAFETY INFO AND READER TIPS HERE)
(photo by Tom F – that’s John Meer helping out tonight at the Holy Rosary tree lot in Admiral)
Here’s the official evening post – we’ll start with information from the 7 pm briefing expected from the city – stand by for that. Meanwhile, if you know of any additional closures/changes for tomorrow, please let us know. Mayor’s briefing under way – he says Weather Service expects winds 10 pm-1 am. That’s about it for useful info – he reiterated that all 27 of the city’s plow/sand trucks are out and working. Meantime, looks like the wind’s picked up further, at least here in Upper Fauntleroy.
7:24 PM UPDATE: Stuck head out the door (note our warning from the earlier post – the snow is blowing even onto covered porches, BEWARE unexpected slipperiness) – the wind is definitely getting stronger. Not massive trouble level yet but stronger, so now’s the time to make sure you have all that just-in-case-of-outage stuff handy.
7:44 PM UPDATE: From SDOT on Twitter: “Roads leading to Qwest Field will be plowed tomorrow to allow football fans to attend the game.”
8:55 PM UPDATE: Video’s the order of the night. Tried to get the howling wind and blowing snow on cam and the clip didn’t quite convey it. So we’re trying again. Meantime, Manuel W is out and about; he sent this link to a clip he shot in Morgan Junction about an hour and a half ago, just BEFORE the wind started revving up. Meantime, King County’s Emergency Operations Center is open too, according to a news release from the county; mostly the carbon-monoxide reminders yet again, but also a note that they’re plowing unincorporated areas. And this note about buses:
Metro Transit was able to operate much of its Saturday service on snow routing during the day, but began experiencing difficult travel conditions Saturday afternoon and evening. As conditions worsen, Metro may have to further curtail service. Metro anticipates having to significantly cut back Sunday service if road conditions are dangerous in the morning.
Also, an update on Thriftway – they did NOT close early, they’re open till midnight. And a reminder from earlier – the West Seattle Junction Association (WSB sponsor) is still planning to have Santa pix at Cupcake Royale and the holiday-cheer booth at California/Alaska, noon-4 pm tomorrow, UNLESS otherwise announced, though the draft-mule trolley rides are off (they can’t get here from Port Angeles).
If you’re not near a window – it looks like near-whiteout conditions out there. Here’s a taste of the blowing snow from a quick 9 pm walkaround:
9:42 PM UPDATE: Alma just took a walk on Alki and came back with this photo from beneath the seawall:
Listening to the scanner – which we have programmed with various county frequencies as well as city – sounds like the eastside is really having a time of it, with power outages and trees down. Nothing on the city power outage list so far. Wind still howling outside our windows, though.
10:06 PM UPDATE: Latest forecast posted — calls for “periods of snow” tomorrow — the winds aren’t supposed to get any worse than they are about now, though, but of course, take it all under advisement. Well-known meteorologist Cliff Mass posted an 8:30 pm update with a chart. Reading his site’s comments, there’s a report of a 55 mph gust on Genesee Hill less than an hour ago.
FOR THE REST OF OUR AS-IT-HAPPENED COVERAGE, INCLUDING PIX, CLICK AHEAD:
10:22 PM UPDATE: More pix. Manuel W linked his Flickr and Vimeo uploads in comments; here’s one shot we thought especially lovely:
And from Delridge/Juneau, Sage K‘s view – with a snowperson keeping watch:
10:51 PM UPDATE: Sure hoping there’s no one even remotely contemplating this, but … I-90 across Snoqualmie Pass is currently closed both ways for zero visibility. Also: The Bohemian just sent word NO BRUNCH tomorrow, though they will be open for coffee:
Based on the severity of the weather lately and this current storm…most of our key personnel couldn’t even get into West Seattle over the past 24hours and therefore we are not prepared or able to execute Brunch service tomorrow. SO…we have decided to cancel plans for full Sunday Brunch service, but we WILL be open from 8am for Coffee, Tea, Pastries, etc…
Airport driving report from Hopey, who just called and said she had decided after all to brave it: If you know how to drive in the snow, it’s OK getting down Roxbury, the “scary hill,” and even on 509, aside from a few idiot tailgaters — she said the treacherous part was 518, the freeway from Burien to Sea-Tac, including the ramp up to the airport — deeper snow, etc. Overall, “only” took her twice as long as usual to get to the airport.
11:12 PM UPDATE: JS e-mailed to say someone’s actually out having a beach bonfire on Alki “across from Pepperdock’s.” Just heard Portland has 8 inches of snow??? Wow.
11:32 PM UPDATE: Austin sends a report and photo:
35th and Fauntleroy.. Snow. And more snow. I took a ride from here to points south and everything was pretty much like this or worse. Still some people out, mostly 4x4s but not all. A few people not able to make it up the hill at 35th southbound from Andover. The land rover made short work of the mess however.
11:46 PM: Manuel got a photo of the Alki bonfire:
12:31 AM: The incredibly cool Alice Enevoldsen has again updated the map she made last night (which was such a great and welcome surprise) – note the yellow markers for places where sledding’s been reported; click the “view larger” link to see the whole map in a Google environment with the legend:
View Larger Map
12:55 AM: A couple more photos from Austin – first, the Fauntleroy overpass (brrrr):
The 7-11 gas station at Avalon/35th:
And we’ve got a Junction report from WSB contributing photojournalist Christopher Boffoli:
Lots of loose snow on the roads. A surprising number of people are out. Some driving too fast and a bit recklessly. Saw more than a few people in 2 wheel drive cars having a tough time of it (going uphill on Alaska and on Fauntleroy. Saw guys on ATVs doing doughnuts in the middle of the Junction just outside of East Street. Saw three adult men throwing snowballs at passing cars at Oregon and California and laughing as if it were funny. Saw a parked Subaru in front of Matador with a somewhat distressed standard poodle sitting in the front seat. Temperature on the clock at Jefferson Square reads 23 degrees. Shadowland, West 5, Matador, still open with a handful of people in each place. There’s an unbelievable amount of snow out there. Drifts are 8-10 inches in some places.
A few of his photos, starting with ATV’s in The Junction:
This one, Christopher described as “Trepidatious pedestrians crossing California. They told me they live down by Lincoln Park and drove their van to the Junction just to walk around and check things out.”
On the scanner, simply: “There’s a LOT of snow out here.” Looking for overnight reading? This rant about “Seattle and snow” is very well-written (and educational in spots).
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