West Seattle Weather Watch: Chance of midweek snow

First saw a mention at KING5.com, then noted it’s also part of the newest “forecast discussion” from the National Weather Service: There’s a chance of lowland snow around here at midweek, forecasters say. Enough of a chance that the NWS has just issued a “special weather statement” about it – read it here. Excerpt (caps theirs):

THERE IS A CHANCE OF LOWLAND SNOW BEGINNING ABOUT WEDNESDAY AND LASTING INTO THURSDAY NIGHT. A DEEP UPPER TROUGH WILL SETTLE OVER WESTERN WASHINGTON. PRECIPITATION WILL BE SHOWERY AND WILL DIMINISH BY THURSDAY. HOWEVER IT IS LIKELY THAT AT LEAST SOME OF THE PRECIPITATION WILL BE IN THE FORM OF SNOW. WITH HIGH TEMPERATURES IN THE 30S AND LOWS IN THE 20S…SOME OF THE SNOW WILL STICK.

THIS SNOWFALL IS STILL FOUR DAYS AWAY AND THE FORECAST COULD CHANGE.

(Seems Cliff Mass mentioned this last night, too.)

S December 25, 2010 (6:31 pm)

:( Where is the “Dislike” button? Hope the city does better clearing any from the street than they did the week of Thanksgiving. They started out being on the ball, then they dropped it and it rolled away from them. But will give em props for getting it back under control at least.

arborheightsdad December 25, 2010 (6:53 pm)

Sounds like this will be pretty insignificant, if it happens at all. No reason to press the panic button.

bridge to somewhere December 25, 2010 (11:24 pm)

Seattle leadership: prepare for ineptitude!

austin December 26, 2010 (9:51 am)

Seattle citizenry: prepare for finger pointing and total lack of personal responsibility!

Dave December 26, 2010 (10:24 am)

This may amount to nothing (except ratings for the media) but take this time to prepare. Simple things like:
warm clothes
shoes to walk home in
power bars
book for the 3 hour bus ride
Full tank of gas if you are a driver

lina rose December 26, 2010 (10:34 am)

I gotta agree with austin…
Never too late to watch a video on on how to drive defensively in snow,
http://www.ehow.com/video_4997845_drive-snow.html
(this is just one shorty, there are tons online)
fill the car up with gas, make sure your chains are ready…. or to stock your car with essential items (water, extra boots/clothes etc)
Yes, our government may not be the most effective at dealign with snow bit right now-we have no control over that. what we do have control over is our own skills and judgement in driving in the snow.

Mack December 26, 2010 (11:36 am)

Motorists can do their part by buying chains for their cars.

bridge to somewhere December 26, 2010 (3:24 pm)

@Austin: you’re right, Seattle’s citizenry should take some personal responsibility when they are an articulated city bus that gets stuck on the “snow routes” that aren’t effectively treated by the city. Why didn’t those lazy citizens just get out and push those buses over the West Seattle Bridge? Furthermore, why did those coddled citizens actually point fingers at the departments responsible for the poor planning and poor response?

homesweethome December 26, 2010 (5:38 pm)

to add to Dave’s list above:
1. do not attempt to drive home at first sign of snow – we all know the streets won’t be clear, so stay off the road and give the city time to actually get its job done
2. have a prearranged place for your kids to go in case you can’t make it (of course all parents have already done this in case of other emergencies right?)
3. charge phones every day and keep a non-battery powered phone in the home

Snow Merchant December 26, 2010 (6:23 pm)

People are the blame. Not prepared with appropriate tires or chains and a glaring inability to drive in snow. I’m from Montana and it’s a joke…really. Seattle stay home when you see white stuff on the ground, because if you don’t drive there won’t be a problem.