(UPDATED TOPLINES, 10:21 PM: Bridges OK. Many roads icy. Metro info here – snow routing again Wednesday. Water Taxi resumes Wednesday. Most schools closed Wednesday, closures updated here)

3:01 PM: No new snow today – so all you have to worry about this afternoon/evening is ice. Traveling from south to north West Seattle at midday today, we saw several SDOT trucks, including the one above. They say 11 plow-spreader trucks are operating “in the south end” along with 2 “brine flush” trucks. They’re monitoring the bridges while considering salt before the evening commute. So how are the bridges? Here are the latest live pictures:

(Refresh for latest pic of WS Bridge, looking eastbound, and 1st Ave. S. Bridge, more on the WSB Traffic cams page)
For earlier road reports, check comments on our previous continuous-coverage update – but now it’s time to look ahead and share news on what’s happening for the rest of the day/evening. The city now is updating an online list of road closures – click here. (Highland Park Way is the biggest one in our area right now.)

But even if a road’s open, it can be treacherous, as this Seattle City Light truck found out on Fairmount (thanks to S for the photo/info):

She says it’s been there at least an hour, and another City Light truck, with cones, is blocking the road uphill. And there’s the garbage truck stuck west of The Junction since *yesterday* – James shared this video of the tow truck running a line way down hill:

Remember that SDOT is only working on the major roads – lots of icy neighborhood streets, like 106th and 34th looking east, in this photo from MargL:

Dwight sent this photo from 44th, closed “just up from Brace Point” because a water main broke, leaving a thick sheet of ice on the street:

Meantime, Misty reports via Facebook that her power is back after 20 hours and a long cold night. City Light still has a few people out in West Seattle.

NOTES FOR TONIGHT: Community Centers closing 4 pm. City libraries closing 5 pm (open noon-5 tomorrow). West Seattle YMCA closing 8 pm.

4:44 PM UPDATE: Seattle Public Schools has just announced no school tomorrow, as have Hope Lutheran School and Seattle Lutheran High School. On the roads, there are multiple units responding to a crash at 5400 West Marginal Way SW (map), but we have no details yet.

5 PM UPDATE: A stalled vehicle reported on the southbound Alaskan Way Viaduct near Columbia onramp.

5:54 PM UPDATE: If you wonder what the fire trucks are doing at Junction QFC – we’ve published a short story about it; there’s a water problem, but the store’s still open. Another business note: Barnes & Noble-Westwood says they’re closing at 6 pm but expecting a normal 9 am opening tomorrow.

6:36 PM UPDATE: Still no reports of trouble. Hope everyone is home safe and warm by now. We’re now under a Special Weather Statement – the National Weather Service says subfreezing temperatures are expected to continue into Thanksgiving morning, and then things will trend back toward “normal.” Also continuing to add Wednesday school closures/changes to the page linked atop this story.

6:49 PM UPDATE: Looking for Sea-Tac Airport info? West Seattle’s Alice Enevoldsen (of AlicesAstroInfo.com among other things) has been tweeting about her odyssey to get to the airport. Her reports include: Highway 509 “wet one lane, piled slush on lane edges,” exits icy (like 518 and 518 to 509), no taxi lines that she saw, “airport overall calm and quiet,” icy roads through Burien and White Center. Read all her updates by going to twitter.com/alicesastroinfo.

7:06 PM UPDATE: Chimney fire call in the 3000 block of 49th SW – scanner describes it as “possible” chimney fire.

7:16 PM UPDATE: New Metro info in for tomorrow, which gives us the occasion to use this photo they sent along earlier today:

That’s King County Executive Dow Constantine watching as Metro’s Saravanan Thangavelu and Mark Gorow prepare a new round of Transit Alerts to go out to bus riders. Highlights of Metro’s latest update: Keep staying inside if at all possible; tomorrow morning’s conditions aren’t expected to be much better, and buses are expected to be on snow routing again. You’ll find Wednesday updates by 4 am here. Metro will be out overnight checking conditions and also retrieving stuck buses.

7:38 PM UPDATE: The Kiwanis Club of West Seattle and Rotary Club of West Seattle both have now called off tomorrow’s meetings.

10:17 PM UPDATE: What a difference a night makes – it’s been really quiet, no word of anything like last night’s traffictastrophes. A few more schools have made their decisions for tomorrow; here’s our updated list. We also have word from a WSB’er that Superior and District Court are both closed again tomorrow – which she says hasn’t happened two days in a row in the more-than-a-few years she’s worked for the court. Metro is DEFINITELY on snow routing for the morning, and the Water Taxi is scheduled to be back in operation. Beautiful shot here by William, taken this morning:

Also from the West Seattle shore – dramatic photos of erosion that was revealed this morning, in the wake of last night’s wind (and preceding storminess) – see them here.

11:11 PM UPDATE: We are “unsticking” this story and it will fall back down the page to the point where it began (you can find the quicklink from the TOP STORIES list on the sidebar). We’ll start a morning commute story in the 5 am hour; of course if anything major happens in the meantime, we remain on 24/7 patrol, so we’ll report it separately.

Many talked about this in various venues Monday night … in comments on our afternoon/evening snow updates, on Facebook, on Twitter … but we thought that before it recedes too far into memory, The Great Monday Night Walk Home should be commemorated with its own story. Jeff Johnson shared the top photo: “I gave up on the buses stuck in traffic and joined hundreds of others hiking our way back to West Seattle. … Warming up at home now!” The next one is from Brian Zenk:

He wrote:

Total trek time was from 5 to 8:15.
I sat on a bus between Denny Way and Pike for one hour.
I jumped off the bus around five.
I finally arrived at home after walking from Pike Street near the market. The bridges were blocked and I walked with many others who could not sit in the bus. We were blocked by a freight train and had to wait to cross the tracks. This was down near Home Depot. When we arrived at the lower West Seattle Bridge, there was no salt or gravel on the bridge and we could smell burning rubber of car tires.

Long Bach Nguyen captured this scene of people walking on the south end of California SW:

And Josh Wendt shared scenes from his trip home – he says he works at Harborview Medical Center and took about an hour and a half to get home to 37th SW. Note the bumper-to-bumper traffic along Alaskan Way:

And looking back at The Bridge:

Last but not least – we included this video in last night’s coverage, but it’s the only clip we have of The Big Walk. Bill Schrier, who shot it, was walking home from downtown – where he works as the tech boss for the City of Seattle:

Thanks to everyone who’s sharing their photos, video, and stories.

**The newest information is now in the afternoon/evening commute update here – thanks!**

(Latest updates/pix at end of story; also note NEWER news is BELOW this story on the home page. Metro info here. NO Water Taxi, NO trash/recycling, Seattle Public Library branches closing 5 pm, Community Centers closing 4 pm)

(Refresh for latest pic from WS Bridge camera, looking eastbound, and Junction cam, more on the WSB Traffic cams page)
6:31 AM: Time to start talking about the roads and the schools heading into the main morning-commute hours. Have just added more local schools to our full list of school changes/closures. Been on the road already today? Let us know what you found. Meantime, Metro already has canceled some routes in its system and renews its request this morning to stay home if you possibly can – check here for your route’s status. No West Seattle Water Taxi today. Sound Transit says the 560 is on reduced service. Seattle City Light still has about 400 people out in six pockets around the north half of the peninsula.

7:06 AM UPDATE: Seattle Public Library branches will open at 1 pm today.

7:21 AM UPDATE: From Trevor in comments, regarding The Bridge and The Viaduct: “At 6:30 am, the West Seattle bridge eastbound part of my commute was the easiest! 99 northbound ok but need to go slow… lots of abandoned cars and slush/ice but not too bad.” SDOT is ***not*** reporting any major closures as of right now. Wondering about the forecast? “The snow has ended,” says the new Winter Weather Advisory issued by the National Weather Service a couple hours ago (in effect until noon), but the temperature is not expected to get above freezing today or tomorrow, so icy roads will be a problem for a few days.

7:36 AM UPDATE: Firsthand report on venturing gingerly outside the house: Compact snow and ice is the word for the walkway and sidewalk, as well as for the two-arterial intersection near WSB HQ (Thistle/California). Saw a couple cars go by, doing OK as long as they went slow-and-steady. The breeze isn’t strong but it truly is bitterly cold. The birds are protesting the snow-covered bird bath, so if you go out later – safely – remember them (we’ll be attending to ours). This is the view looking north on California from Thistle:

Cancellation note from comments: No Rotary Club of West Seattle meeting today. Meantime, we’re trying to find out what’s up with trash collecting (many West Seattleites – including us – have Tuesday pickup). Reminder that county courts are closed today – Amy makes note of that (part of the King County Executive’s “stay home if you’re not absolutely essential” entreaty early today).

7:48 AM UPDATE: A new city update’s in – the Emergency Ops Center reopened at 5 am – but it doesn’t include Seattle Public Utilities, so far. Here’s the word on roads etc:

SDOT night shift crews are operating 15 plow and spreader trucks this morning that are loaded with granular salt (rock salt) for treating all areas that have accumulations of ice or packed snow. SDOT is making progress on Condition Level 1 corridors with crews focusing on trouble spots such as elevated structures and hills. SDOT is also making progress on Condition Level 2 corridors focusing on transit routes and hills. …

SDOT will increase snow response crews for this morning’s commute and transition to the day shift at 8:00 a.m. with 22 plow/spreader trucks being dispatched to continue improving conditions on Condition Level 1 and 2 snow routes. SDOT will focus to open closed streets and assist King County Metro recover stalled buses.

8:01 AM UPDATE: And it’s official: Trash and other solid-waste pickup for today is POSTPONED, according to Seattle Public Utilities, which says if you were supposed to have pickup today, “set out double (your) normal amount … at no additional charge” NEXT Tuesday. (Here’s the full text of their announcement.)

8:15 AM UPDATE: From Jessica, who took the photo “looking north on 35th ave sw and Roxbury. Saw a chained articulated #56 going round the Roxbury corner onto 35th. Sheets of ice though”:

Road condition reports/photos very much appreciated (editor@westseattleblog.com) – especially if you’re on an arterial. (And the comment section is already full of great updates this morning.) Thanks!

8:37 AM UPDATE: This coverage will stay atop the home page – which means NEWER, NON-SNOW NEWS is published BENEATH it for now. If you can get around today, please note the newest story we’ve added – White Center Food Bank needs volunteer help today.

8:54 AM UPDATE: Mayor McGinn was just interviewed on KING 5. He said they’ll be assessing the response – what went wrong, what went right – when the weather problems are over. He declined to grade the response (you’ll recall that’s where his predecessor went wrong in December ’08). He says it seemed like everything was going OK till “mid-afternoon” yesterday. Practical info: He says abandoned cars will NOT be towed or ticketed – unless they are blocking roads. He also mentioned that he’s aware many West Seattleites had a very long commute home. (Asked how he got home, he said he was picked up and driven home via Ballard.)

9:35 AM UPDATE: State Transportation Secretary Paula Hammond is starting a KIRO Radio (97.3) interview right now – I-5, where so many were marooned, falls under her wing, so we’ll be listening. In West Seattle, Danny Gawlowski from the Seattle Times (WSB partner) is out and about today – he just tweeted this photo of SW Alaska with the closure sign (always an ice-prone hill) west of The Junction):

A WSB’er who just e-mailed about the 8:45 am commute downtown said The Bridge and The Viaduct were smooth going. Still bus problems reported here and there (remember to check the Metro site AND sign up for their e-mail/text alerts):

Paul spotted that bus, apparently abandoned, at California/Othello in lower Gatewood this morning.

10:22 AM UPDATE: A WSB team member is traveling California by bus checking on things (the 22 “snow shuttle” from here). The bus shown above is still stuck, he reports, with traffic slowly getting around it. In the other direction, at Westwood Village, Michelle took this photo:

She reports, “Thought people may want to know that the Barnes and Noble, Bed Bath and Beyond, and 24 Hr Fitness are all open and it is quiet and icy at Westwood Village. Some of the small shops are closed.” (We’ll be checking on Junction/Admiral – business owners are also welcome to e-mail us again today with news of their status.)

10:53 AM UPDATE: In The Junction, we’re finding business owners, clearing off their walkways and otherwise bustling (two days till Thanksgiving!). Above, that’s Funky Jane’s owner Angela with her kids – and a newly purchased snow shovel. Next, Scott from the Electric Train Store, working on his walkway:

Latest weather-related cancellation: Joe McDermott‘s swearing-in as a County Councilmember has been postponed. (The Elections Department was scheduled to finalize the Nov. 2 results today but that’s been put off.)

11:47 AM UPDATE: Also postponed: The Sofia Goff (Cafe Revo) fundraiser set for today is rescheduled for Saturday. Re: open businesses – West Seattle Cellars says they’re open till 7 tonight and 11-7 tomorrow; Twilight Artist Collective in The Junction will be opening a bit later as its proprietors slog their way in to work; Mountain to Sound Outfitters (WSB sponsor) is open and having that sale mentioned last night – gear to keep you warm. And we have more bus trouble. You might have heard earlier about the buses stuck at 44th/Glenn/Oregon on the northwest edge of The Junction – still there, says Katie; here’s one:

Galena spotted this one a short time ago in the 3000 block of SW Avalon Way:

And our roving reporter saw this one on SW Admiral Way around 38th:

Just heard a live TV interview with a Metro spokesperson who says dozens of buses are still stuck in various spots around the county. And to soften the tales of trouble – this was just shared via the WSB inbox – 2 1/2 year-old Violet made “Mrs. Snowman”:

12:10 PM UPDATE: A few more business notes – Allstar Fitness may close early (3-ish); 8 Limbs Yoga canceled all classes.

1:28 PM UPDATE: Preps for the afternoon/evening commute are well under way. Our roving reporter has seen multiple SDOT trucks on West Seattle arterials. And WSDOT has just sent an update, including this paragraph:

“We have all available trucks and crew members out, working day and night,” said Chris Christopher, Maintenance Director for Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT). “In Western Washington alone, we have 250 trucks and 300 crew members working 12-hour shifts. But with temperatures still below freezing drivers may see ice on the roads for at least another day.”

1:44 PM UPDATE: Seattle Public Library branches are closing at 5 pm – thanks to Wally for the tip. Meantime, we’ve published several new stories you’ll find beneath this one on the home page (until we “unstick” this when we start afternoon/evening coverage in the next half-hour or so – then it’ll fall back into reverse-chronological order) – newest, a look back at the Great Monday Night Walk Home.

1:56 PM: Ron Angeles in the city’s Delridge Neighborhood Service Center has just shared the city’s latest roundup. Note, we have EXCERPTED the information of most relevance to West Seattle and cut out the rest. This was compiled by the city’s Emergency Operations Center, which is apparently closing momentarily and will reopen for tomorrow’s morning commute:

SDOT had crews on the streets plowing and de-icing throughout the night. Approximately 70% of Level 1 and 2 streets have 2 lanes open. Thirty-nine street segments are currently closed due to snow and black ice.

Transit impacts continue from yesterday. Metro buses are chained up and operating on snow routes. Fourteen bus routes have been cancelled (see list below). Metro is responding to 119 buses that are currently stranded. Access para-transit vans are operating on life-sustaining trips (e.g. dialysis patients) only.

All transportation agencies encouraged people to stay off the roads if possible today.
Morning commute traffic was light.

Road Closures:

• Olson Pl SW / SW Roxbury to 1 Ave S
• SW Charlestown St / 46th Ave SW to 47 Ave SW
• Highland Park Way SW / W Marginal Way to SW Holden St

Canceled Metro Bus Routes:
2 Express, 7 Express, 38, 45, 51, 53, 76, 77, 79, 110, 210, 219, 266 and 310.

Parks Facilities and Programs
All community centers will close at 4 pm today.
All pools are closed.
All athletic fields are closed.
All evening recreational programs are canceled.
The Carkeek Park learning center is closed.

Twenty SDOT crews are continuing road clearing activities. This morning SDOT crews implemented the Pedestrian Response plan, which includes de-icing pedestrian landings and city-owned stair wells.

3:10 PM NOTE: Please note that we have now launched the afternoon/evening commute coverage – go here – thank you in advance for sharing road reports etc. there.

(Looking for the Monday mega-report with 500+ comments? Find it here. School closures/changes are here.)

(From Ted – video from the scene of the downed tree at California/Walker)
12:01 AM: Now that the evening commute has finally ended – just in time for a brand-new day – we’re starting a new round of running coverage. We’ll talk about what’s happening overnight – such as, I-5 is still reported to be a “parking lot” – but also look ahead to the morning. For starters – here’s our list of school closures. Plus – Metro says it’ll be nowhere near full service this morning; what service they do offer will again be on snow routes. Perhaps foreshadowing the service reduction, Kris just tweeted this photo from the low-bridge vicinity:

Via Twitter, Justin says the 21 is running along 1st Avenue South. Meantime, the weather folks all say it’ll be incredibly icy.

12:43 AM UPDATE: According to Seattle City Light‘s outage tracker, more than 460 West Seattle homes/businesses, all on the north end of the peninsula, are without power right now. None of the outages lists an estimated restoration time. Meantime, more traffic information: Abandoned vehicles seem to be a big problem on most major routes – we’re hearing of them on the westbound high bridge, the Alaskan Way Viaduct, and this just tweeted by WSDOT: “On the I-5 northbound off-ramp to the West Seattle Bridge, there are disabled vehicles blocking the ramp.”

1:01 AM UPDATE: Update just in from the King County Water Taxi – Service on both West Seattle and Vashon routes may be “reduced” today – they promise updates later on their website. Also from the county, a message from County Executive Dow Constantine – a West Seattleite – telling county workers, stay home if you’re not absolutely, desperately needed.

1:57 AM UPDATE: Via Twitter – word of a very long taxi line at Sea-Tac. Meantime, we’ve taken a closer look at the forecast, and noticed we’re now under a Winter Weather Advisory until 4 pm; it’s supposed to get sunny today, while staying very cold – a high in the 20s, then a low possibly into single digits. The wind right now, however, is definitely double digits – howling out there.

2:36 AM UPDATE: OK, it wasn’t 100 percent doom and gloom. ZJ shared this photo from Genesee Hill:

And then there was the following photo from Krista:

Her caption: “I sense something. A presence I’ve not felt since….. 2008.”

6:31 AM UPDATE: We’ve just started a new “morning commute” story – see you there!