(Morning view at Luna/Anchor Park, by Theresa Arbow-O’Connor)
4:44 PM: So far, doesn’t look like we have to worry much about serious snow, but that very cold air is arriving. The National Weather Service issued a Special Weather Statement alert this afternoon for our area, including:
Record-breaking cold temperatures are expected to spread across western Washington this afternoon and tonight and continue into at least early next week. The coldest temperatures and wind chills are expected Friday through Sunday followed by a very slow warming trend.
This cold snap will begin with rapidly falling temperatures this afternoon through tonight and could result in flash freezing of any wet surfaces including roadways. This could create rapidly deteriorating travel/commute conditions.
By Friday morning, extremely cold air will be in place across western Washington …
In addition to all the other preparation advice, we’ve been asked to remind you – keep your pets inside, and watch out for your neighborhood birds, too, like this one:
Reader Laura sent this advice if you have a hummingbird feeder:
Rather than bringing feeders inside at night, it is best to keep them up 24/7 and provide heat to keep the nectar thawed during sub-freezing temps. If you have some incandescent (non-LED) holiday lights you can simply wrap the lights around the feeder or put the bundled string of lights in an empty plastic nursery plant pot and hang it underneath the feeder (I use unfolded paperclips to connect from the perches on the feeder to a few holes punched along the rim of the pot). If your feeder has a bottle, slipping an old wool sock and/or bubble-wrap around the bottle helps too. If you keep feeders thawed by bringing them indoors periodically, this is best done by swapping them out (have at least 2) so there is always one available.
As always, thanks in advance for tips and photos enhancing our weather coverage – text 206-293-6302 or email westseattleblog@gmail.com any time!
5:31 PM: North winds are bringing in that cold air, and they’ve also led to the cancellation of the Vashon Island Water Taxi for the rest of the evening. (West Seattle is still running.)
6:30 PM: Very light snow, but it’s cold enough that it’s sticking to parked vehicles:
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