West Seattle, Washington
16 Sunday
More snow photos to share from this frosty and frosted New Year’s Day in West Seattle. The first three, above and below, are from Gatewood photographer/pilot Long Bach Nguyen. If you don’t recognize the top photo, that’s Solstice Park (home to Alice Enevoldsen‘s solstice and equinox sunset watches) – not so much snow, but a unique aerial look at its patterns. Below, you see part of Gatewood and Sunrise Heights:
And next, a view over West Seattle, looking northeast toward downtown in the distance:
Now, ground-level views – here’s a view from the West Duwamish Greenbelt, shared by Elisa Zook:
David Williams photographed his yard southeast of Charlestown Hill:
From Sandra Braun:
And James Bratsanos caught the snowy Olympics early this morning:
4:59 PM: Spectacular sunset to start the first night of 2017! Thanks to Kendall Browne for the photo above. (Another sky sight: The crescent moon is visible right now.)
ADDED 7:38 PM: Two more New Year’s Day sunset views – first, from North Admiral, by Ryan O’Keven:
And from Chris Frankovich:
Thanks again for sharing photos, video news tips, reader reports … editor@westseattleblog.com is preferred when it’s not “breaking,” 206-293-6302 (text/voice) when it is … looking forward to another excellent year, our 10th year of serving West Seattle with 24/7/365 news.
The photos are from Alysia, who says a hit-run driver damaged both their cars near 31st SW/SW Holden early today [map]. A neighbor heard it happen around 2:30 am and “saw the car struggling to get away,” describing it as a green van.
“They left a bunch of debris and their hubcap behind. Please keep an eye out for a green van with a significant amount of damage to the front right. Any info would be appreciated!” If you have information to report to Seattle Police, it’s incident #17-0340.
(Pre-swim photo by Jacob Nieman – note the crowd size!)
Thanks to everyone who shared photos and video from this morning’s 2017 West Seattle Polar Bear Swim at Alki Beach!
(Photo by Robert Spears)
A good, if frosty, time was had by all, so far as we could tell – 33-degree air, 50-degree water, exactly the same as last year. Here’s our video of this morning’s countdown and run in:
(WSB video by Patrick Sand)
At the start of our clip, the countdown is being led by Mark Ufkes, who organizes this every year – he’s in the next photo with the megaphone:
(Photo by Russ Walker)
Here’s a wider view of the big splash:
(Video by Kendall Browne)
For some, the Polar Bear Swim is a spectator sport – this guy told us he was there to cheer on his 15-year-old daughter, participating for the first time:
(This photo and next 5 are by WSB’s Patrick Sand)
Some of the other sights – maybe the most-formal swimmer (or maybe just hadn’t been home since the NYE party):
Think we saw this dinosaur back on Halloween:
We noted the lampshade in a pre-swim tweet – and spotted it on the beach under someone else’s care:
Another standout hat:
Die-hard Cougar fan:
Maybe a tropical print helped make up for the almost-freezing air:
(Photo by Russ Walker)
Whatever you were or weren’t wearing, there was post-swim chowder, courtesy of nearby Duke’s:
(WSB photo)
And memories that will linger until next New Year’s Day:
(Photo by Robert Spears)
(WSB photo)
(added 7:30 pm) One more video of the big swim – this one is by Anthony Decena:
P.S. Here’s our coverage from previous years:
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010
(Thanks to Deborah in Highland Park for the photo)
Happy snowy New Year’s Day! Here’s information you might find helpful:
RESTAURANTS OPEN TODAY: Here’s our list.
POLAR BEAR SWIM: Gather at 9:50 am along Alki Beach across from Duke’s – everybody in the water at 10 am sharp. (Alki Avenue SW & 58th SW)
NEW YEAR’S LABYRINTH WALK: Noon-2 pm at Our Lady of Guadalupe. (35th SW/SW Myrtle)
OTHER EVENTS TODAY … including special church services … are listed in the WSB West Seattle Holiday Guide.
FARMERS’ MARKET CLOSED: But it’s back to every-Sunday operation NEXT week, on January 8th.
SEATTLE PARKS FACILITIES: Here’s the closure list.
SEATTLE PUBLIC LIBRARY BRANCHES: Closed today.
TRANSIT: Regular Sunday schedules unless the bus is still on a snow route because of the early-morning snowfall. For Metro, check here.
5:10 AM: In the past few hours, we’ve seen half an inch or so of snow here in Upper Fauntleroy, east of Lincoln Park. At least, that’s how much has stuck to cars, fence tops, and planting strips. More is falling, but it’s also melting in the street – audibly, by the storm drains – and driving down toward The Junction was no problem. It’s still snowing lightly, and the National Weather Service‘s 3 am “forecast discussion” says: “The Seattle metro will continue to see a threat of snow through the morning as the back edge of a band (currently over the San Juans and Skagit) pushes south. A trace to 1/2″ of snow is possible…with up to 1″ at the high end.” South of here, the NWS says, they’ve seen more.
5:17 AM: Buses are on snow routes around King County, including here, according to Metro’s website. West Seattle is in what Metro calls the South Seattle zone, so you can use that to sort the updates on this page.
6 AM: Sounds (and looks) from comments so far that eastern/southern West Seattle is snowiest.
(Added: Photo from Mike R. in Arbor Heights)
8:41 AM: From Metro:
Transit Alert – Rts 21, 50 & 125 in Metro's South Seattle snow area have returned to their regular routing; https://t.co/zSuRSmN8Ry.
— King County Metro (@kcmetrobus) January 1, 2017
8:51 AM: And now the C Line is back to its regular route too.
9:46 AM: Looks like little if any snow on Alki, at least as seen by our crew in photographing Polar Bear Swimmers on the way to the 10 am event (the lampshade caught our attention):
No more snow in the forecast so far, but it’s expected to be cold for the next few days, highs in the 30s, lows in the 20s.
Thanks for the photos of the Space Needle fireworks that kicked off 2017! Above and below are by Robert Spears, photographed from West Seattle:
The next photo is by Craig Young, from Kerry Park on Queen Anne:
This year’s show was longer than previous years, according to the broadcast team on KING5 – 10 minutes.
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