West Seattle Weather Watch: Wind advisory; heavy-rain alert

This morning the forecast didn’t look that unusual for our area – some rain, some breeziness – but now things are starting to ratchet up. The National Weather Service has just issued a WInd Advisory for Seattle and environs, 7 tonight through noon tomorrow; see it here. Gusts up to 45 mph are possible, the NWS says. As for rain – weather analyst Cliff Mass has just published his analysis of the impending storm, and he says: “Even Seattle will get nearly 4-5 inches if this forecast verifies.” (See his summary – maps and all – here.) Remember we now have a permanent collection of weather tools – current conditions, forecast, tides, etc. – on the WSB Weather page.

mookie November 21, 2011 (10:33 am)

Wait…so, 4 to 5 inches of rain in 24 HOURS?!

WSB November 21, 2011 (11:12 am)

Sounds like December 2007, if it pans out. Just shared this link with someone who inquired on Twitter … http://www.climate.washington.edu/events/dec2007floods/

Noelle November 21, 2011 (11:04 am)

4 to 5 inches of RAIN? I would rather have SNOW!

Chris November 21, 2011 (11:17 am)

4-5 inches in 24 hours? Why have I not heard this from anywere else. I remember the last few times this happened, major problems.

WSB November 21, 2011 (11:32 am)

Cliff Mass is an independent, and respected (but not perfect, of course, weather prediction is TOUGH!), analyst. The National Weather Service tends to be a little more conservative. This isn’t to panic anyone but on the other hand … forewarned is forearmed, as the saying goes. I need to go check on what my two favorite former-TV-co-worker meteorologists (Walter and MJ) at Q13 are saying … they were frequently right on the money! – TR

mookie November 21, 2011 (11:32 am)

Yep! Per Cliff Mass: “Here is the forecast precipitation over the next 48h over the region and over western Washington.The Olympics, the north Cascades, and the mountains of southwest Washington and NW Oregon are going to get hammered with 5-10 inches of rain (reds).
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Even Seattle will get nearly 4-5 inches if this forecast verifies.
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Folks, this will be a major event.”
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So, keep an eye on the storm drain nearest to you, and attack any blocking debris! Also be prepared for some power outages if the winds get up to anything like they’re predicted to.

mcbride November 21, 2011 (11:35 am)

Also a good time to prepare for power outages, which are not uncommon in high wind/heavy rainfall scenarios.

cjboffoli November 21, 2011 (11:37 am)

Noelle: Five inches of rain would be five feet (or more) of snow! It might be interesting to see West Seattle with shoulder-height snow. But I expect a lot of folks around here wouldn’t like that too much. :-)

Noelle November 21, 2011 (11:45 am)

CJ- That would be a crazy amount of Snow! I would be happy with just a few inches of snow . . . The kind that is fun for a day or two and then melts away! (True Seattle Style!) This storm just sounds like a yucky flooding mess. At least snow is pretty to look at.

MargL November 21, 2011 (12:27 pm)

Fingers crossed for my friends on Beach Drive living across from the wall of “ecology blocks” shoring up the hill…

Jiggers November 21, 2011 (12:28 pm)

I love this weather. I’ll have the park to myself while you whimps stay indoors.

raincity November 21, 2011 (12:58 pm)

Is all the rain tonight? Or is the storm Cliff is talking about the Tuesday night storm?

WSB November 21, 2011 (2:02 pm)

Looks like right now the forecast has “rain heavy at times” mentioned for tomorrow. Got a break in it at the moment, after serious rain this morning – TR

katiem November 21, 2011 (1:52 pm)

@Jiggers enjoy… I’ll just watch snugly from a window while you resemble that “mime walking against the wind” at the park! :-)

Mass Math November 21, 2011 (5:47 pm)

Can we trust Cliff’s math on this Mass of rain?

Lorelee November 21, 2011 (9:01 pm)

At what point do the winds stop the water taxi? I see the advisory is in effect thru tomorrow afternoon and I’m wondering if we can count on the water taxi to get us to work. Thanks!