(That’s the latest live image from The Bridge, looking east)
ORIGINAL 6:08 AM UPDATE: From Seattle Public Schools–
February 26, 2009: All Seattle Public Schools will start two hours late today and buses will operate on snow routes. Due to weather concerns, all schools will start two hours late today. Buses will operate on snow routes. There will be no door-to-door service, no Head Start and pre-school, and no half day a.m. kindergarten or half day p.m. kindergarten. Full day kindergarten classes will be in session with a two-hour start delay. Before school breakfast service will not be available.
ADDED 6:15 AM: Holy Rosary will also have a two-hour delay. Highline Public Schools, also 2 hours late.
Posted on February 26, 2009: Because of the snow, school will open at 10AM today. BASE will be open on time.
6:30 AM UPDATE: The Vashon Island School District confirms the comment you saw earlier on this post.
Due to icy road conditions school will be two hours late. No morning preschool or kindergarten. Normal bus routes.
ADDED 6:39 AM: Metro says some buses are being affected by the weather, though its page doesn’t list any West Seattle routes at the moment. Here’s its list. And it’s snowing lightly again.
ADDED 6:55 AM: Chris confirms via Twitter that The Bridge is bare and wet (and you can check the latest live picture at the top of this post). Also via Twitter, from SDOT:
Plows dedicated to the West Seattle Bridge and Alaskan Way Viaduct. These roadway structures are in good condition. … Crews throughout city treating main roads, focusing on inbound commute routes. Roads have snow and ice in places but traffic is moving. …
You can check more West Seattle-relevant cameras on the WSB Traffic page. Another driving note via Twitter: Roads on Vashon are reported to be icy.
ADDED 7:09 AM: Superior and District Courts are all on a 2-hour delay, according to King County, which is adding other changes to a list on its home page. Also note that there are multiple reports of Metro delays/no-shows in West Seattle and elsewhere (one via Twitter from Ravenna Nation) that are not listed on the “adverse weather” page so far; we are checking with Metro to see what’s happening with that.
ADDED 7:20 AM: We’re also collecting road reports from Facebook (where you can “friend” WSB at “WS Blog“): Renee says, “Genesee hill by Pathfinder school wet, but not icy. Traffic moving as if it rained.” Colby says, “Highland Park hill down to 99 was clean at 6:15ish.” Lisa says, “2600 SW Holden is okay. I just drove up from Georgetown, up Roxbury to Delridge then Holden and it’s good. The main roads are clear and it’s not icy.”
ADDED 7:30 AM: Beware the breeze, which just kicked up for a moment and blew a serious wave of snow off the roof. Also, this photo doesn’t quite do it justice, but the Olympics’ peaks are snow-covered and currently visible, illuminated by a sunbreak beneath the clouds:
Thanks to Renee, who added to her Facebook report on Genesee Hill (as mentioned above) by e-mailing this photo, taken near Pathfinder K-8:
And thanks to everyone else who’s been sharing updates – we’re watching e-mail, FB, Twitter, the WSB Forums, among other places. (Hap just reported in the forums about spouse’s hourlong bus wait at Genesee and Avalon – the 21 finally showed at 7:09 am but was “jampacked.”)
7:49 AM UPDATE: Latest from SDOT:
SDOT crews were on standby last night. The weather forecast at midnight predicted no “road snow,” but cautioned that the situation could easily change. Night crews patrolled for ice, and when it began to snow, around 4 a.m., standby crews were called in to assist the regular nightshift crews.
Between 4 and 6 a.m., snow dumped on Seattle streets, leaving approximately one and two inches, varying according to location. All available trucks with plows and sand treated major arterial streets throughout the city.
Crews were dedicated specifically to the West Seattle Bridge and the Alaskan Way Viaduct, and salt was applied to make sure they remained in good condition. Roadway Structures crews inspected bridges and overpasses to make sure walkways were passable and snow was not presenting a problem for opening and closing the moveable bridges. Trucks with plows and sanders were also directed to trouble spots in West Seattle and Southeast Seattle, called in by Seattle Police and King County Metro Transit.
By 7 a.m. air temperatures were rising and snow was turning to slush on many streets. Crews will continue plowing and sanding as long as they are needed.
7:57 AM UPDATE: Thanks to Sheila for calling (206-293-6302, 24/7) to report the 125 is “not going from (South Seattle Community College) down to Delridge – it’s backtracking.” And via Facebook from Talani at Stor-More (WSB sponsor) on Yancy at Avalon in the Luna Park business/residential district:
Cars are moving on Avalon and Yancy by the Stor-More Self Storage sign, but are covered with snow. There are slick spots, so be careful out there neighbors!
Talani also shared photos on FB, including this one:
8:07 AM UPDATE: Metro says EVERYONE should expect delays – here’s the newest update:
The weather is clearing, and snow has stopped falling in most areas of
King County. Still, the weather-related traffic conditions this morning
are causing problems for Metro Transit buses. As of 8 a.m., more than
two dozen routes were rerouted for a portion of their normal routes.
Others, had been rerouted for a very short period of time, but are back
to regular routing now.While routing may be normal for the other routes, the travel times
aren’t due to the traffic. But that varies by location and by time. It’s
just the same as if you drive this morning. You might be able to go 60
mph for awhile, and then suddenly you’re at 15 mph for 10 miles, then
back up to speed. So, all bus riders should expect delays due to traffic
conditions this morning.
8:36 AM UPDATE: From Twitter, a report that a ferry worker told Vashon riders that Fauntleroy’s dock doesn’t have Metro service. We have NOT confirmed this but are passing along because we have been receiving in general the most updated/detailed info from riders themselves.
9:40 AM UPDATE: Excellent point from Mpento (echoed by others) in comments: Be sure to clean the snow off your car before driving. This was relatively fluffy, dry snow, and it is blowing off cars that take off without clearing it – that can blow back at you or others and cause a dangerous visibility problem. We just took a drive over to Westcrest Park and back (no road trouble at all, some light snow cover still on alleys) and noticed that challenge, compounded with the bright sunshine and the glare off the snow covering yards, parking strips, roofs. Just a few swipes with an ice scraper or squeegee will clear it fast since it’s not wet enough to stick to your car and even up here on a high-ish hill, it didn’t turn to windshield ice.
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