(KEY LINKS: Metro buses on snow routes; Sound Transit too … Traffic cams here … Many steep hills now closed … Winter Weather Advisory in effect, roads might ice tonight …)
12:20 PM: It’s gotten much snowier in the past hour; if you watch the WSB Twitter feed, you’ve seen our photos – we’ll add some here momentarily and those you have been sending. We were headed to the Farmers’ Market when things got serious – check what we found there:
(added) Also – Dave Montoure of West 5, selling corn chowder! Hot soup for an ice-cold day:
(added) Christopher Boffoli shot this panorama shortly after the snow started – you can click and pan around in the scene:
As of right now, there’s a line south of The Junction: North of the line, snow on the ground, on the road, falling. Here in the south, we have pinpoint “corn snow” right now and it’s only JUST begun to stick on the road – we passed the highest point in Seattle about five minutes ago and at that time, nothing even on the grass, but a mile south, the first stuck bus we’d seen today. Metro has just announced it’s on snow routes (find them here). Plows are out too – in the background of this cameraphone shot, we saw one heading back onto the high bridge from 35th/Avalon:
More to come – let us know what’s happening where you are.
12:43 PM: The photo over this line is an overview from near the Luna Park business district, courtesy of Charles. Thanks to everyone who’s sending photos! We’ve found in past storms (if you weren’t with WSB then) they provide a vital view of what’s happening all around the peninsula.
1:15 PM: Just back from a trip through Arbor Heights. Side streets covered but passable if you drive slow. 35th SW is OK, same advice, but certainly snowy/slushy (photo above is looking north toward Roxbury from 35th after 1 pm). We’re hearing that most steep hills, particularly in north WS where it’s been snowing heavier longer, are impassable – Admiral has spinouts and a stuck bus. A caller (thanks – 206-293-6302) says the bridge is having trouble too. See the latest views on our Traffic cams page. Back to the neighborhoods: From Tony in High Point –
Also just got word from Neil that SW Genesee is closed between Avalon and Delridge – very steep hill so no surprise. Pic:
Thanks for the road updates – the official sources don’t have this level of detail so your reports are key. Meantime, the West Seattle YMCA has just tweeted:
Change in plans. All basketball games 2 pm on are cancelled, pix, too. Fauntleroy Y will close @ 2 pm, West Seattle Y will close @ 5 pm.
1:50 PM: Got a report that 35th is closed at Alaska. That’s where we saw the stuck bus at noontime, photo atop this report. Meantime, some north areas (Admiral/Alki) tallying snow around 3 inches already. Thanks to Robert for this beach shot from around 1 pm:
And there’s sledding too! We’ve heard of several spots. From our WSBeat correspondent Megan Sheppard, here’s Belvidere Viewpoint Park:
It is suddenly down to a light flurry here in Upper Fauntleroy (now 1:58).
3:01 PM: 36th and 37th around Providence Mount St. Vincent were reported in bad shape – thanks to Karen and Deb from West Seattle Be Prepared for conveying that. We just came back from one more run through Arbor Heights – 35th OK, has been either sanded or well=traveled, and side streets still pretty snowy. Also took Barton down to Fauntleroy – bare and wet, same for Fauntleroy Way along Lincoln Park, though we saw some snowperson-building activity on the park grass. Here’s one on Alki – photo by Ian Coldwell, snowman by Andy Burgess, both Alki residents:
From North Admiral, Erik Walum shares the scene at Hamilton Viewpoint:
Also in Admiral, Ted measured – four-inch accumulation:
Back to Lincoln Park – tranquil scene from Trileigh Tucker:
And Alki Lighthouse is lovely in the snow – thanks to Russ Walker for this photo from his Flickr gallery:
So is DK’s backyard in Highland Park:
We’ll be going out after 4 to check out the road conditions before sunset. The Weather Service has renewed its advisory and that includes concern about roads icing over.
4:07 PM: Skylark Café and JaK’s Grill have both mentioned on Facebook that they’ll be closed tonight due to complications of the weather. By 6 pm, we’ll switch over to an ongoing evening weather update, though we’re also hoping to get some coverage of other weekend news in before then. Meantime, more photos! First, Ginny Woo says this is son Gus (10 months)’s first snow – he was out as she and his big sis Ava, 7, built a “snowlady”:
The Pals family sent their snow-giant photo – with, from left, Mommy, Ira, and Jurgen:
We even got a snowman photo from The Admiral District’s Brent Amaker:
And over at Madison Middle School, Steve shows us, they’ve been sledding:
Tomorrow was already an off-day for students, remember, since it’s the official King Day holiday. For now – more snow falling … A big line of dark clouds just advanced from the west (not long after a sunbreak in the same spot – wild weather!).
6:12 PM: Took that trip around the peninsula, traveling California and 35th among other roads. Didn’t encounter any closures – but snow was falling again. Admiral is still way snowier than Morgan Junction and many points south. Meantime, Metro says it’ll be on snow routing again tomorrow, and also reminds you that its Monday schedule is “reduced weekday” for the MLK Day holiday. We will start ongoing evening coverage in a while – after a few other things that have been in queue.
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