(WSB file photo)

As we continue to check on West Seattle’s big weekend events given the not-very-summery forecast, we’ve found one cancellation. For the second consecutive year, Sound Rowers and Paddlers have called off the Great Cross-Sound Race, which was scheduled for tomorrow (Saturday) morning, roundtrip from Alki to south Bainbridge Island. This year, stormy weather is the problem (the National Weather Service has a Small Craft Advisory in effect until 2 pm tomorrow); last year, it was wildfire smoke.

4:39 PM: No weather alerts yet, but in the past few minutes, the wind has kicked up in a big way, and radar shows another storm band heading this way. Lights are flickering too. Keep everything charged and stay safe! If you have downed trees or anything else to report, once you’ve alerted authorities, tell us too (206-293-6302 text or voice) – thanks!

4:42 PM: It’s not on the map yet but we’re getting outage reports from Riverview. … Here’s the outage, stretching south into White Center and South Park:

4:50 PM: There’s a report of a tree down on Seola Beach Road. Citywide, a dispatcher just declared, “We’re getting a TON of downed tree and wire calls right now.”

4:59 PM: At least one tree is reported down in the Myers/Olson area at the east end of the Roxbury corridor.

5:02 PM: Now there’s a water-rescue response to the 1200 block of Alki Avenue SW. Erin, who called it in, tells WSB, it’s for a “kayaker in distress” who tried to wave down a passing boat. Tons of whitecaps while that giant blast of wind roared through, she observes.

5:16 PM: Responders aren’t finding anyone in trouble so far. As for the 2,221-customer power outage, repairs might take a while, as SCL is dealing with more than 26,000 customers out of electricity around its service area. As for the weather itself, looks like the rain shown on the radar might have bypassed us.

5:21 PM: The Alki water-rescue response is now officially canceled.

5:38 PM: Commenters in Morgan Junction mentioned a loud “explosion.” The SCL map now shows a 27-customer outage between Graham, Fauntleroy, 41st, and 42nd. … From Gatewood, Paul sent this photo:

Paul reports, “On 36th just north of Othello. Came down during wind storm. Everyone jumped in to help clean up. Some damage to vehicle.”

9 PM: Both aforementioned outages remain unresolved, per the SCL map. But the utility’s making progress overall – down to 11,000+ customers out throughout its service area, less than half of the peak number.

10:42 PM: This is now the last large outage left. SCL provided a short update of sorts on X/Twitter a few minutes ago: “Crews continue to troubleshoot the issue and are working toward a solution until power is restored to all.”

11:12 PM: The South Park area of this outage just got power back, so it’s down to just under 700 customers, mostly in West Seattle. The short description of the cause is finally labeled as “tree/vegetation” (we’ll be asking SCL tomorrow about the specific location, as to date nobody has reported where the crew is).

11:46 PM: Just for the record, here’s a screengrab of the SCL map showing who’s still out:

12:43 AM: After eight hours, the map shows everyone in this outage is back on. (If you’re not, please let SCL know!)

(Added: Quick clip of lightning as it approached, recorded by Tom Trulin)
8:40 PM: You’ve probably heard the thunder even if you haven’t seen the lightning. A band of thunderstorms has arrived in our area and the National Weather Service has issued a flood alert for most of the region, in effect until 10:45 tonight, because of heavy rain accompanying the thunderstorms. The flooding isn’t expected to be major but beware of street ponding, for example. Let us know (206-293-6302 text) about any problems like downed trees or outages – in the meantime, keep everything charged!

9:51 PM: Some really close strikes in the past few minutes, so it’s a good time to stay inside.

(Added: Elissa Roche’s video captures the sound of the rain, plus some lightning)
10:28 PM: The rain has lightened and the lightning/thunder have moved on (mostly).

11:41 PM: Thanks to everyone who’s shared visuals of the lightning. The photo above is from Nicolay Thomassen, who was looking west from just north of Lincoln Park. So far no major problems anywhere in our area, and the weather is definitely a lot calmer now – though the NWS has extended the Flood Advisory alert to 2:45 am.

12:30 AM: Thanks to the texter who points out the first notable power outage in the area – 67 customers near 20th/Thistle.

(Photo by James Bratsanos)

Thanks for the photos! The forecast warned smoky haze would move in this afternoon, and it tinted the sunset in a big way.

(Photo by Lana from Gatewood)

Earlier this week, the state Smoke Information site suggested two fires in our state and two in Canada might contribute to the haze, which is expected to linger through tomorrow, and then get “scoured out” over the weekend, according to the National Weather Service. So far the air quality isn’t horrible but it’s definitely worse than usual, so take care if you’re vulnerable.

(Photo by David Hutchinson)

(Monday sunrise photo by Theresa Arbow-O’Connor)

The weather pendulum swings again. On Tuesday our high temperature was nine degrees below normal for that date; now the National Weather Service says abnormally hot weather is on the way. It’s issued a “Heat Advisory” alert for noon Thursday through 9 pm Friday, with these details:

Hot conditions with temperatures in the upper 80s to low 90s expected. This will pose a moderate to isolated major risk of heat-related illness. … Heat will significantly increase the risk of heat-related illnesses for those who are sensitive to heat, especially those without effective cooling or adequate hydration. … Areas of elevated smoke and haze are expected to move over western Washington Thursday and Friday. This could result in slightly lower temperatures than forecast.

Thanks to James Bratsanos for the photo of tonight’s smoke-pink sunset. The haze won’t hang around too long, though, according to the National Weather Service, which says that “wildfire smoke aloft continues to wrap around a weak upper trough axis east of the Cascades. That system will continue to shift eastward overnight and increasing low level onshore flow will pull the marine layer inland further than what we saw this morning. … Another upper trough with a more westward trajectory will arrive Sunday night into Monday, providing some uncharacteristically wet (and beneficial) weather for what is climatologically the driest period of the year.” Here’s fire/smoke info for our state (Oregon and BC are plagued with fires too).

ADDED: One more photo, from Tom Trulin:

Our phone photo doesn’t do it full justice but that was an unmistakably smoke-red sunset just moments ago. We noticed the haze about an hour earlier, as the early evening sunlight was tinted that telltale yellow. Current air-quality readings are not suggesting trouble but there are definitely wildfires both to the north in B.C. and over in Eastern Washington. (added 9:08 pm) The National Weather Service‘s just-posted forecast-discussion update describes it as “some light upper level haze from area fires” and says “stronger westerly winds aloft” will push it away tomorrow.

It’s almost an embodiment of the classic joke about summer in Seattle starting right after the Fourth of July. The Fourth actually still looks great – but the day after, and all the way to Monday, a heat alert kicks in. The National Weather Service’s Heat Advisory for our area will be in effect noon Friday (July 5) through 10 pm Monday (July 8). The NWS expects “Hot conditions with temperatures in the upper 80s and 90s … This will pose a moderate to major risk of heat-related illness.” This is our first heat alert since last August. (Don’t worry about tomorrow … mid-70s.)

8:50 PM: Thanks for the photos! After a sunnier-than-forecast day, the showers moved in around 4:30 – with some hail/ice pellets too. Theresa Arbow-O’Connor says that’s what the sky looked like, northeastward from Alki, right about when the first drops fell. Between showers, a rainbow graced the eastern sky:

Thanks to the texter who sent that from High Point. Unsettled, cooler-than-normal weather is forecast to continue into tomorrow, with a continuing chance of thunderstorms, but by midweek we’re supposed to see 70s again.

ADDED 10:08 PM: Thanks to Stewart L. for a different rainbow view:

Thanks to everyone who sent photos of a weather phenomenon today – “rainbow clouds” over West Seattle. Above, from an anonymous texter; below, from Thomas Bach at Alki:

And from Craig Page, looking toward Vashon:

As explained here, this is also referred to simply as “cloud iridescence” is caused by “diffraction (which) occurs when small water droplets or small ice crystals scatter the sun’s light. … The cloud must be thin and have lots of water droplets or ice crystals of about the same size. When that happens, the sun’s rays encounter just a few droplets at at time. For this reason, semi-transparent clouds or clouds that are just forming are the ones most likely to have iridescence.”

Thanks for the photos! More tree trouble in today’s wind. Above, SJ sent that photo showing a downed tree along 59th SW on the west side of Alki Playfield … while the one below, from Jeepney, shows a tree that has split and is blocking a stretch of sidewalk at 35th/Holden:

And Manuel just sent this photo from North Delridge:

“One sizable tree is blocking the trail at Longfellow Creek/Dragonfly just north of the fishbones bridge,” he explains. “The winds also left a few other little trees fallen and a bunch of branches on the ground.” The National Weather Service wind alert we mentioned earlier remains in effect until 11 am tomorrow, with gusts up to 40 mph possible. If you encounter weather-related trouble (or any other breaking news), we’re reachable 24/7 at (text or voice) 206-293-6302 – after you’ve reported it to authorities, of course (for trees or other road/sidewalk-blocking problems, SDOT’s after-hours number is 206-386-1218).

11:19 AM: Though the wind has been kicking up for a while, we haven’t had an official alert from the National Weather Service until now: The NWS has our area under a Wind Advisory alert until 11 am Tuesday. The alert says we can expect “south winds 15 to 25 mph with gusts up to 40 mph.” Keep everything charged!

2:30 PM: Thanks to Eve for the report that a tree has fallen on Delridge near Webster – we don’t have cleanup-status information so be wary of possible traffic effects in the area.

Thanks to everyone who sent photos of tonight’s drop-everything-and-stare sunset, seen looking northwest from Alki; the pic above is from Gene Pavola. The clouds are not expected to entirely leave us between now and Memorial Day – the forecast suggests some sun tomorrow, Friday, and Monday (when the temperature might hit 70), but mostly cloudy on Saturday and Sunday.

“Flat rainbow” is how Gretchen described what she photographed this morning from Seaview. Thanks to everyone who sent photos of the unusually low-arcing rainbow – this one’s from Amber in upper South Alki:

With unsettled weather on Monday too, David Hutchinson got this rainbow view that day, looking east from Alki:

The forecast for tomorrow calls for more sun than anything, but first, a cold night – might get into the 30s.

In case you missed it: For a while this afternoon, snow had the upper hand in the “wintry mix” that swept through. Gill Loring‘s photo above is from White Center; we saw it while traveling from North Admiral to south Gatewood. The clouds that brought it were quite dramatic, as Jason Grotelueschen‘s photo from The Junction shows:

More “wintry mix” (aka rain/snow) is in the forecast all the way through Tuesday, with highs continuing in the mid-40s (below the seasonal norms, which would be low 50s). Spring is only 17 days away!

TUESDAY NIGHT: Get ready for another round of wind. Early Wednesday morning – 4 am, to be specific – a Wind Advisory alert from the National Weather Service takes effect, lasting until 7 pm. The NWS says we can expect “south winds 25 to 35 mph, with gusts up to 45 mph.” It’ll be raining, too – likely heavy rain at times – so things could get very sloppy. Thanks in advance for sharing any news of trouble in your neighborhood – once you’re sure the authorities know, text us if you can, 206-293-6302 – thank you! (Alert map from weather.gov)

WEDNESDAY NOTE: The alert has been extended until 11 tonight.

4:15 PM: Thanks to the texter who sent that photo from Arbor Heights. We’re getting an icy rain mix right now in Upper Fauntleroy – a variant of the “wintry mix” that’s been in the forecast – and getting reports from other areas too.

4:35 PM: Also from Arbor Heights, an even-more-wintry photo via text. Be careful if you have to head out soon, as streets and sidewalks are coated in areas. But it’s already clearing to the west, so this wave might not last too long.

4:50 PM: And White Center has a white coating too. Here in Upper Fauntleroy, the sun is breaking through – mixed with light snow.

5:30 PM: See the comments for some traffic trouble in Arbor Heights. Meantime, radar shows a stretch of clear sky, but it could get below freezing tonight, and the now-wet roads could turn to ice. There’s a possibility of more “mix” overnight, too.

No sunset colors tonight, so let’s admire the sunrise! Thanks to everyone who sent photos of today’s early-morning show. Above, that’s from Liz; below, from Jerry Simmons:

And a panoramic view from James Tilley:

Though winter still has a month remaining – spring equinox is March 19 – before it’s done, we’ll be in Daylight Saving Time, which returns three weeks from tonight – 2 am Sunday, March 10.

(View from West Seattle’s highest-elevation traffic camera)

6:00 AM: Good morning! It’s Thursday, February 15, and we got some surprise snow – not just a “wintry mix” – in the very-early morning hours. Not enough to cause major problems (on this side of the Sound, anyway), but be aware you might have to navigate some slush on the roads, sidewalks, and paths.

WEATHER + SUNRISE/SUNSET TIMES

Could see a bit more snow this morning, says today’s forecast, but by later this morning it’s expected to be all rain, heading for a high in the mid-40s. Today’s sunrise will be at 7:15 am, sunset at 5:32 pm.

TRANSIT NOTES

Metro today – Regular schedule so far; check advisories here.

Water Taxi today – Regular schedule. Check the real-time map if you need to see where the boat is. **Holiday note – Both Water Taxi routes are out of service on Presidents Day next Monday (February 19).

Washington State Ferries today – If you sail to Southworth, be aware that Kitsap County got more snow, and is dealing with the results. As for the ferries themselves, though, we have the usual 2 boats on the Triangle Route. Check WSF alerts for changes, and use the real-time map to see where your ferry is.

SPOTLIGHT TRAFFIC CAMERAS

Delridge cameras: Besides the one below (Delridge/Orchard), cameras are also at Delridge/Genesee, Delridge/Juneau, Delridge/Henderson, and Delridge/Oregon.

High Bridge – the main camera:

High Bridge – the view from its southwest end (when SDOT points the 35th/Avalon/Fauntleroy camera that way):

Low Bridge:

1st Ave. S. Bridge:

Highway 99: – northbound side at Lander:

MORE TRAFFIC CAMS: All functioning traffic cams citywide are here; West Seattle and vicinity-relevant cameras are on this WSB page.

BRIDGE INFO: The @SDOTBridges feed on X (ex-Twitter) shows whether the city’s movable bridges are opening for vessel traffic.

If you see a problem on the bridges/streets/paths/water, please text or call us (when you can do that safely, and after you’ve reported to authorities if they’re not already on scene). Thank you!