West Seattle Weather Watch: High tide swamps Alki; Delridge ramp flooded; possible snow

(SCROLL DOWN for newest photos, info)

10:14 AM: We’ve been mentioning water woes on local roads in our ongoing traffic/weather report – and now, check this out! Thanks to Mike Mulligan for sharing the views from Alki Statue of Liberty Plaza and Alki Bathhouse as wind and rain combined with a 12.3-foot high tide this morning.

Reminds us of the big surge back in December 2012. This morning’s tide peaked at 9:41 am, and the rain is letting up a bit, but we’re off to check on some of this morning’s other reported swamped spots.

11:56 AM UPDATE: Just back.

(WSB photos/video from here on)
Even an hour and a half after high tide, the Alki Bathhouse/promenade was still getting deluged, as our Instagram clip shows:

A video posted by West Seattle Blog (@westseattleblog) on Nov 11, 2014 at 11:20am PST

To the east at Seacrest, very high water – the floating dock for the water taxi is almost up to the level of the fishing pier:

Perhaps lucky the Water Taxi’s not running today (extra holiday) – that would be a wild ride. You’ll also notice if you’re in that area, Elliott Bay has a taupe tinge to it today with so much stormwater rushing in. Meantime, back on the roads/paths, the Delridge onramp to the bridge is still flooded and closed:

If you veer to the left, you’ll find another spot of high water on that side of the road, too. And while traveling the peninsula’s periphery, we noticed numerous flooded spots – thanks to the texter who pointed us to this one, Fauntleroy Way between Raymond and Findlay:

Wherever you’re going – be careful, as some of the deep-water spots aren’t visible until you get right up to their edge. We’ll continue to update throughout the day; let us know if you’re seeing new troublespots (text/voice 206-293-6302 – thank you!).

1:50 PM: Just back from a journey through eastern West Seattle. A firefighter (we didn’t see which engine, and it’s not on the 911 list) was wading into the Delridge onramp mess – a WSB Facebook commenter says cars are now getting around the water and onto the bridge (we’ll check back before dusk). Along Delridge itself, deep water at intersections including Holden and Myrtle, on the northbound side; also the usual big puddle on southbound West Marginal Way just north of the Highland Park Way hill.

4:07 PM: Commenter Chuck says the ramp is open now. Meantime, the newest weather alert is out, and it’s a “winter weather advisory” for 9 pm tonight until 11 am tomorrow, still suggesting some snow – though it sounds far more likely north of Seattle, than here, but be ready anyway!

west seattle codger November 28, 2014 (10:41 am)

Lots of standing water out there. Major accident incident onto 99 from WS. Large pool of water at Delridge onto the high bridge, a couple of feet deep. Be careful of pooking and spray.

Ryan caple November 28, 2014 (10:58 am)

Big puddle south of 35th and Barton

NW November 28, 2014 (11:51 am)

Get out there with a rake Ryan and do whatever small part you can to unplug it.
EVEN AFTER THE HEAVY RAINS CAN HELP ALOT WE CAN ALL DO OUR PART.

Anon November 28, 2014 (12:05 pm)

Calling for some help from the community. We live on alki beach (on the beach, ground level) between the lighthouse and cactus. Waves were hitting our door this AM at high tide, the worst I’ve ever seen since 2008. We were planning on evacuation but the waves stopped just in time. We did not suffer any serious flood damage.

Can any of you with weather prediction expertise tell us whether there will be a repeat of this near flooding situation tomorrow? The predicted tide is just as high as it was today. Could really use some help to see if we should plan on evacuation today in preparation for flooding tomorrow.

Thank you!

WSB November 28, 2014 (12:16 pm)

Don’t know who might eventually show up here – I’ll ask on Twitter, where some weather experts might be hanging out – but in the short run:
.
*The *baseline* high tide will be almost as high, 12.2 feet, 10:31 am. According to an exchange in our Twitter feed, the extra storm surge was the problem – 2 feet above the “basic” high tide!
.
*The weather is NOT supposed to be this stormy – the dropping temps are supposedly more likely to bring snow showers, and it’s not SUPPOSED to be this kind of deluge. Forecast: http://www.atmos.washington.edu/data/city_report.html

Alan November 28, 2014 (12:08 pm)

Ah, you already knew about the Delridge onramp well before I emailed. Glad I didn’t go back to get a photo.

It is ugly out there everywhere. A good day for everyone to make sure the drains on and near their property are not plugged.

WSB November 28, 2014 (12:21 pm)

Thanks for checking, Alan. Somebody texted us early on, and we had it in the daily traffic watch, but didn’t get over for a photo until we finally pried ourselves out of the house around 10:30.

JanS November 28, 2014 (1:01 pm)

a friend and I were just getting to the Alki Cafe as this was being posted…definitely something to see down there. Surf was definitely up !

coffee November 28, 2014 (1:04 pm)

LIGHTS ON WHEN DRIVING! Gez people! I cannot tell you how many beige and lite gray cars racing around with out lights on and its really hard to see them!

Beach resident November 28, 2014 (1:07 pm)

Anon:

I rely on the weather service’s hourly predictions
http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lat=47.57915&lon=-122.40892&unit=0&lg=english&FcstType=graphical
and I line up those winds and gusts with a detailed tide chart.

Tomorrow is a pretty high tide, and today’s rain may easily add a foot or more to the predicted high tide. But what is really important for beach residents is that the hourly prediction shows strong steady wind from the north around tomorrow’s high tide. If you face north, you might consider sand bagging today.

Many fall storms with tidal sloshing have winds from the SW, which effects residents facing west.

JayDee November 28, 2014 (1:16 pm)

I am not MetPatrick but just a weather nut. Seattle City Light has a website that predicts wind. It has a step-through feature that predicts wind over the next three days. So Anon, I would be prepared for high water again. Sorry.

And from the 9 AM Discussion (also accessible from the link above):

A HIGH WIND WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR PARTS OF THE N INTERIOR

TONIGHT AND SATURDAY FOR THE STRONG NE FRASER VALLEY OUTFLOW WINDS.

00Z MESOSCALE MODELS ARE STILL SHOWING SPOTTY 35KT/40MPH N-NE WINDS

LATE TONIGHT AND SATURDAY MORNING. IF THE 12Z MODELS SHOW THE

SAME…UPGRADING TO A HIGH WIND WARNING MAY BE NECESSARY.

cj November 28, 2014 (1:53 pm)

Just got home from the junction a little while ago. Not much water build up at the time but it was starting to and did notice plugged drains with lots of fallen leaf blockage.

ZS November 28, 2014 (1:54 pm)

We are out of town but wondering if the parking lot at West Seattle Health Club is flooded?

WSB November 28, 2014 (1:55 pm)

No, it’s not, we went by there a little while ago. Not even partly. Puddle on Andover to the north, though.

HelperMonkey November 28, 2014 (2:17 pm)

Huge puddle at 35th and Cloverdale

JayDee November 28, 2014 (2:30 pm)

http://www.atmos.washington.edu/SCL/

for some reason the link didn’t work…try try again…

chuck jacobs November 28, 2014 (3:28 pm)

The Delridge to West Seattle Bridge ramp is now clear and open to traffic.

WSB November 28, 2014 (3:45 pm)

Thank you for the update.

waded in the water November 28, 2014 (6:05 pm)

It took me a while this morning but once I found the clogged storm drain on Fauntleroy near the Juneau triangle, I removed gunk, leaves and a plastic lid from the grate. It’s always satisfying to watch the gutter and street finally run clear. I was wondering if SPU has an on-line storm grate tracker. That sure would be helpful for the next “lake-over-a-road” I come across.

WSB November 28, 2014 (6:10 pm)

You have to zoom WAY in, but this seems to accomplish that http://www.seattle.gov/util/EnvironmentConservation/GetInvolved/AdoptaDrain/Adopt-a-DrainSignup/index.htm

NW November 28, 2014 (6:11 pm)

Bang up job waded in the water although I have never attended meetup groups ,think they are kinda corny, start one up and I am all for joining. Something as simple as picking up plastic debris when I see it down the road can make a big difference even prevent a clogged stormdrain and possible wreck or worse…..
Would be beneficial to know where our major reoccurring problem drains are.

GeneL November 28, 2014 (6:21 pm)

Wondering about low South Park

Jay November 28, 2014 (6:40 pm)

Here’s a link to see ACTUAL tide levels. Not forecast, but actual real-time. I keep an eye on this site any time there are especially high tides that could become problematic. I looked at it first thing this morning and saw that it was going to be pretty interesting over here on the beach at vashon. Sure enough…some minor flooding and plenty of “treasures” floating free.

http://tidesonline.noaa.gov/geographic.html

JanS November 28, 2014 (8:49 pm)

@coffee…I hear you about headlights. I was making a left turn from 42nd SW to SW Lander about 5:30pm, and just about ran smack into a car with no lights on…never saw him in the darkness…they just kept on going, and I flashed my lights about 10 times as I was behind them, and..nothing. They never did turn their lights on :(

Alan November 28, 2014 (11:45 pm)

GeneL, I drove down 14th Ave S and Cloverdale through South Park. I didn’t notice anything as bad as what I saw in West Seattle.

Beach resident November 28, 2014 (11:49 pm)

Jay – that is a great link. Thanks for sharing that, as it certainly shows that this morning’s tide was quite a bit higher than forecast. As far as predicting how much water will come over the bulkhead, I still think the hourly forecast of wind speed and direction is very useful. There’s a lot more slosh over the bulkhead with a 12-foot tide and wind than with a 13-foot tide and calm.