The National Weather Service has moved up the snow possibility to tomorrow afternoon, and from thereon out, the word “snow” isn’t out of the metro-area forecast until TUESDAY. See for yourself here.

From the official National Weather Service forecast issued for the metro area early this morning:

SATURDAY NIGHT…MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF RAIN AND SNOW SHOWERS. LOWS IN THE UPPER 20S TO MID 30S. SOUTHWEST WIND 10 TO 15 MPH…EXCEPT NORTHWEST WIND NORTH PART. SUNDAY…PARTLY SUNNY WITH A CHANCE OF RAIN AND SNOW SHOWERS. HIGHS IN THE LOWER 40S. SOUTHWEST WIND NEAR 10 MPH. SUNDAY NIGHT…MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF RAIN AND SNOW SHOWERS. LOWS IN THE MID 20S TO LOWER 30S.

As for today – mostly sunny! By the way, Scott C noted that the city put what appeared to be a “thick” layer of deicer on the West Seattle Bridge overnight.

Seattle weather star Cliff Mass says the “models” are suggesting possible snow this weekend. The National Weather Service mentions it briefly too in the latest “forecast discussion.” We did get snow LAST March – found lots of photos in the archives, including this one shared by Karen in Westwood on 3/28/08:

That’s what the just-published “forecast discussion” boils down to. (Our continuous updates from the morning-commute hours are here.) P.S. Here’s what Cliff Mass wrote a few hours ago – including a complaint about the same Metro online problem that WSB readers called attention to during our morning coverage.

(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.

So says the latest forecast. Weather star Cliff Mass thinks “nothing significant.” But he and other sources all note there’s some already up in Whatcom County (traffic cam here). 7:10 PM UPDATE: From WSDOT via Twitter, it’s snowing in Olympia.

Here’s the latest “forecast discussion” from the National Weather Service, with the possibility of snow showers tomorrow. Weather star Cliff Mass hasn’t posted an update yet today but wasn’t too worried about it last night; he’s speaking at Town Hall downtown tonight, by the way.

Thursday’s forecast includes the possibility of snow. Just thought you’d want to know.

(scroll/refresh for the latest updates at the bottom of this report)

At least here in Upper Fauntleroy, it’s just become more intense. How about where you are? 1:09 PM: Starting to stick here, though not on the road, yet. 1:23 PM UPDATE: And now – the road too. We’re now at the phase where we invite you to send photos of what’s happening where you are. Off now to research the consensus on how long this is expected to last – update, winter weather advisory is in effect till 6 pm. Photo of SW Sullivan, near WSB HQ:

1:47 PM: Down by Fauntleroy Schoolhouse now for another story; roads are wet, not snowy, though big wet flakes are falling down here too.

2:36 PM UPDATE: Back from our Fauntleroy shoot – hiking around the back trails of Fauntleroy Park with kids collecting water samples – More on that shortly. First: The roads remain wet and drivable. Second, here’s an update from SDOT:

The weather forecast for Seattle calls for one to two inches of wet snow today. At this time, wet snow is falling but is not sticking to the pavement, due to relatively warm temperatures. Five SDOT trucks are patrolling Seattle streets, on the outlook for weather-related pavement concerns.

SDOT’s full fleet of trucks with snow plows and sanders are ready for snow and ice response if needed. Crews with several trucks will remain on duty this evening after the end of the day shift to patrol streets. Additional crews will be available on standby, to supplement regular night shift crews, if needed.

2:57 PM UPDATE: Photo from our hike with “Team EarthPeeps” from Gatewood Elementary – Fauntleroy Park is a beautiful place to be on a mildly snowy afternoon:

Full story tonight on what they’re up to, along with an update on another Gatewood group that invited us along on a different adventure last week). As for the weather, the new forecasts should be out shortly; remember that if you need to check the traffic cameras, West Seattle-related ones are all on our Traffic page.

3:58 PM UPDATE: The snow seems to be turning to rain now, as promised. So all may be closer to well as you head home.

4:29 PM UPDATE: And that rain is getting ever lighter. But the winter weather advisory is still in place till 10 pm, just in case. We’ll be adding some non-snow stories to the top of the page now, but will continue to update this with any new information – and we’ll watch commute conditions, too.

All’s quiet here as of 4 am but the latest “forecast discussion” came out less than half an hour ago and includes:

PRECIP SHOULD SOON DEVELOP ALONG THE COAST AND SPREAD INTO THE INTERIOR AROUND OR JUST AFTER SUNRISE. THE AIR MASS IS SUFFICIENTLY COLD RIGHT NOW TO SUPPORT SNOW OVER NEARLY ALL OF WRN WA …

4 am temp at both Sea-Tac and Boeing Field, nearest “official” major weather stations, was 32 degrees. If you need to check traffic cameras, the ones of relevance to West Seattle are on the WSB Traffic page; the citywide system is here; the WSDOT cams page for the entire region is here.

Just got a message from Karen via Facebook, saying hail and freezing rain just moved through her area (26th/Hudson; map). The weather experts say a “convergence zone” is happening again tonight, like last night, though that technically affects mainly the south Snohomish/north King County area. The next official forecast should be out within about two hours, and we’ll add an update then. 8:57 PM NOTE: Sleet here in Upper Fauntleroy – standing outside, you can hear it, more than see it. Cliff Mass posted another update within the past hour and says there’s a CHANCE we could see substantial snow tomorrow morning; temps are right on the edge.