West Seattle, Washington
20 Wednesday
12:39 PM: We’ve seen sun, rain, and now hail today – the photo above is how the street looked outside WSB HQ a short time ago. Could be wild weather off and on all afternoon – the forecast calls for possible thunderstorms.
P.S. For contrast – a reader near Lincoln Park shared this photo from just a few hours ago:
12:51 PM: The NWS shares a high-level view:
A look at the shower over West Seattle from the @space_needle. Several reports of small hail rolling in! #wawx pic.twitter.com/aGW0hQSoaK
— NWS Seattle (@NWSSeattle) March 30, 2020
ADDED 2 PM: More photos and video – thank you! First, from Stephen @ Lowman Beach:
Video from Troy in Gatewood:
(Photo by Scott Scowcroft – Alice’s spring-equinox sunset watch in March 2019)
Virus or no virus, the earth keeps turning, and spring will arrive this Thursday (March 19th). Like many other events, West Seattle astronomy educator Alice Enevoldsen‘s change-of-seasons sunset watch will go online this time around. Alice says you’re invited to join it via Zoom – 6:30-7:30 pm on Thursday. She will post the link here (and of course we’ll remind you too) that day.
The first of three consecutive “supermoons” brought breathtaking sights, and we have three to share. Above, Greg Snyder photographed the Monday morning moonset over the Olympic Mountains’ iconic Brothers. Below, Dan Ciske‘s view of the Monday evening moonrise over the Cascades, from Duwamish Head:
Just a bit further southeast, David Hutchinson was along Harbor Avenue:
Just a week and a half until spring arrives – 8:49 pm Thursday, March 19!
If the sky stays relatively clear – as forecast – you might see the full moon setting this morning; official moonset time will be 8:01 am. Above, Theresa Arbow-O’Connor photographed the rising moon through blossoms; below, Danny McMillin caught it setting Sunday:
This is the first of three consecutive “supermoons.”
(Photo by Victoria Gnatoka)
Sunbreaks and even a rainbow this afternoon – but, heads up, the updated forecast says “scattered thunderstorms” are a possibility this evening. But – partly sunny tomorrow, sunny Monday! (Helpful if you are working from home and need a break – maybe a walk along Alki or Lincoln Park shores …)
5:49 PM: Thanks for all the reports! Hail just hit many areas of West Seattle (though it seems to have bypassed us in Upper Fauntleroy – maybe not for long, since we just heard thunder). The photo above is from Rosalie in Admiral Below, some of the reports tweeted at us:
sizable hail here in admiral @westseattleblog pic.twitter.com/UGkx6IRRlH
— liz murdock (@mizmurdock) March 1, 2020
Umm…this is quite a hailstorm. #Seattle #PigeonPoint @WestSeaWx @westseattleblog pic.twitter.com/zVsFXxxp3l
— Dirty Ginger (@wickym) March 1, 2020
Hail in West Seattle @westseattleblog @KING5Seattle pic.twitter.com/IHn2yuVImE
— KellyD (@kdbokay) March 1, 2020
Thunderstorms were in the forecast we published last night – though NOT in the latest update.
6:03 PM: Must be north-to-south-moving hail – NOW it’s here (got a text from Gatewood, too).
ADDED: Two photos from David Hutchinson showing the skies right after the first wave of hail:
James Bratsanos caught tonight’s sunset sunbreak in the view above; below, @WestSeaWx explained it via Twitter:
Back edge of cold front across the sound w/some ragged mammatus filling closely behind.@NWSSeattle @westseattleblog pic.twitter.com/A2UZISq3ki
— WestSeattleWx (@WestSeaWx) February 29, 2020
As for the weekend ahead, the forecast suggests a varied menu – breezy overnight, more rain off and on, maybe even some thunderstorms tomorrow.
10:30 AM: No notable damage or outages reported here from the wind that moved through this morning, but in case you have some cleanup to do, here’s a warning that more wind is expected as the day goes on. No official alert, but “south wind … 15 to 25 mph … becoming southwest with gusts to 35 mph in the afternoon. TONIGHT… Southwest wind 15 to 25 mph with gusts to 35 mph.” Possible afternoon/evening thunderstorms too.
11:55 AM: Thanks to Ann Marie for the photo above – she says downed trees are blocking that stairway at Lincoln Park.
We showed you the rise of last night’s “Snow Moon” in the daily highlights – now, this morning’s moonset, photographed by Kersti Muul. With a mostly sunny Monday in the forecast, it might be in view again tomorrow morning; moonset is expected at 8:35 am.
New alert from the National Weather Service – a Wind Advisory for our area for 4 pm today through 7 am tomorrow. The advisory says forecasters expect “southwest winds 20 to 35 mph with gusts up to 45 mph.”
10:13 AM: That light snow that’s been a possibility for the past day-plus has finally shown up. The National Weather Service says it’s in the forecast until late afternoon, but isn’t expecting much if any accumulation.
12:46 PM: The light snow continues, but it’s not even sticking to parked cars.
The only snow we’ve seen since that dusting a few weeks ago is courtesy of peek mountain-peak views, like the one in David Hutchinson’s photo of The Brothers. But the temp’s back into the 30s and precipitation is returning, so the National Weather Service says a rain/snow mix is possible, while insisting accumulation is unlikely. (But do let us know if you see any!)
Thanks to Kersti Muul for the photo of tonight’s sunset, which started yellow-gold and ended with a pink flourish. The forecast has calmed down, but it’s on the way to a cooldown – tonight’s low is expected to drop into the 30s, and we’re entering a few days with a chance of a little snow here and there. But no big rain again before mid-week. P.S. Only five weeks until we spring forward and sunsets are suddenly after 7 pm!
10:38 PM: We don’t know whether it’s been cleaned up yet, but thanks to Maia for the alert that a tree had fallen onto Fairmount Avenue near the top of the ravine, just north of Forest. (If you encounter road-blocking trees or other debris, it is a 911 call – they can dispatch police and contact SDOT.)
11:47 PM: Bill sent that photo from east of Lincoln Park, near 46th and Monroe, another place where a tree has fallen onto the road.
The afternoon forecast update is in and the National Weather Service’s Wind Advisory alert remains in effect until 7 am Saturday: “South winds 30 to 40 mph with gusts up to 50 mph.” The rain continues too – throughout the afternoon, it’s come and gone in waves of windblown “sideways rain.” It’s also been relatively warm – into the mid-50s – but that’ll end by tomorrow, the forecast says, with that possible mix of rain/snow maybe on the higher hills early Sunday.
(Today’s sunrise, tweeted by @WestSeaWx)
Now that Thursday is here, the weekend forecast has a higher degree of reliability, so we’re mentioning two points:
-Very heavy rain expected Saturday (up to three inches)
-A bit of snow possible Sunday night
The first point is what really calls for action – especially since we’re in a break between storms right now – when you can, check the nearest drains!
Thanks to Jim Borrow for that view, from Upper Alki, of this afternoon’s rainbow. This followed several rounds of pounding rain during the day – “embedded thunderstorms” moving through, per @WestSeaWx – and the forecast suggests we’ll see more rain off and on through the weekend. Meantime, one more rainbow view:
Happy Rainbow Friday 🦄 #seattle pic.twitter.com/2Iz8mIy7ay
— Dené Miles (@DeneMiles) January 24, 2020
Today’s district-wide Seattle Public Schools closure means a one-day delay for opening night of West Seattle High School‘s student-directed play, “Harvey.” Its run will now be Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 7:30 pm, in the theater at WSHS (3000 California SW). Tickets are $10 at the door; see the cast and synopsis for the production here.
1:57 PM: That’s what Southwest Athletic Complex looked like this morning – one of the places in West Seattle where light snow from earlier this week is lingering. And you might notice a little more on the ground in your neighborhood when you return home tonight – light snow is falling right now and the National Weather Service expects showers to continue for a while:
Another band of moderate to heavy precipitation is moving onshore from the Pacific near Hoquiam. A band of snow is also affecting the Puget sound lowlands. The dry air will limit accumulation and most will fall as flurries to light snow. #wawx pic.twitter.com/qgfWxcoZcY
— NWS Seattle (@NWSSeattle) January 15, 2020
No new alerts so far.
2:26 PM: Half an hour later, still snowing, heavily at times.
2:52 PM: And it’s all but over for now. Some stuck to side streets, though – Heather tweeted this photo from North Admiral:
The temperature’s still above freezing, though. SDOT‘s back out on the arterials just in case.
4:34 PM UPDATE: We just took a trip around the peninsula – roads are fine, no further precip.
(WSB photos)
12:52 PM: As first reported here Monday, American Legion Post 160 has opened its doors to be a “warming center” for anyone in the West Seattle area who needs somewhere to go. Just in, an update from Post 160 Commander Keith Hughes:
Through the generosity of Good Neighbors in West Seattle, we now have cots and blankets, as well as lots of coffee, tea, water, soft drinks, and hot food all day. If you or someone you know of needs to get out of the cold and wet, please let folks know we are open and will be through Friday night and breakfast on Saturday.
Post 160 is at 3618 SW Alaska (here’s a map).
THURSDAY MORNING UPDATE: Now that the temperature is well above freezing, this will end at noon today (January 16th).
(WEDNESDAY SCHOOL INFO: Changes are ALL LISTED HERE)
5:50 AM: Good morning. It’s been a windy, but not snowy, night. The temperature is above freezing, and the weather alert has been lifted. But conditions elsewhere in the county are still affecting some things. Here are our infolinks:
SCHOOL CHANGES: Listed here, including Seattle Public Schools‘ closure
METRO CHANGES: Here’s the systemwide list
SDOT WINTER WEATHER MAP: See treated/plowed streets citywide here
SDOT TRAVELERS’ MAP: The map we regularly feature with cameras, alerts
OUR TRAFFIC CAMS PAGE: Cameras particularly relevant to WS and vicinity
WARMING CENTER: In West Seattle, go to American Legion Post 160
Got info? Text/call 206-293-6302.
6:45 AM: Remember that some Tuesday-collection trash/recycling customers were skipped – we expect an update from SPU later, but they indicated on Tuesday that they’d try to get to skipped customers today, so leave your cart out.
7:48 AM: Again, even though we didn’t get hit by snow overnight, there are still some ripple effects, and here’s another: Seattle Parks program closures. Here’s the full rundown on what’s open and closed (no golfing in West Seattle today, too).
4:59 PM: Two notes, starting with the forecast:
WEATHER UPDATE: As sunset approached, West Seattle saw some sunshine, though the temperature has remained below freezing, so last night’s snow is still around. The National Weather Service continues to predict that more is on th way tonight, so a Winter Storm Warning alert will take effect at 6 pm. The NWS stresses that there’s much uncertainty about where the “heavier snow bands” will go – maybe not this far south – but we should know by mid-evening. The alert currently is set to expire at 7 am tomorrow.
TRANSIT UPDATE: Metro remains on regular routing in our area, but with some changes, most notably:
Transit Alert – Rt 37 to the Alaska Junction will not operate this evening due to road conditions; ride Rt 55 or the RapidRide C Line.
— King County Metro ❄️🚏 🚌🚎⛴🚐 (@kcmetrobus) January 15, 2020
Here’s the full Metro overview.
ADDED 8:16 PM: Haven’t seen more than flurries so far. If anything more happens, we’ll start a new report. But before we move on from this one, some photos from readers – first, an aerial near Myrtle Reservoir, from an anonymous texter:
Next, from Theresa Arbow-O’Connor:
And from Natalia Swegle:
If you see snowfall – 206-293-6302, text or voice – thank you!
10:31 AM: Above, hit “play” for the live stream (update: archived video) of Mayor Jenny Durkan and city department leaders (plus Metro and WSDOT) offering updates on how city services are responding to the weather. Here’s a multi-department info roundup sent a short time ago. Toplines to come.
10:55 AM: Transportation officials spoke first. Rodney Maxie of SDOT said they had 70 people out all night and if the next wave of snow warrants it, they have “contractors” they can call in too. He says even if the north end bears the brunt of it as was the case in the previous wave of snow, they will still keep crews here – near the city’s highest elevation in High Point – ready to respond. He also said they have mode-specific teams addressing specifics. Metro’s Terry White said they expect to have all buses on snow routes by this afternoon/evening, and that they will have to pull articulated buses when that happens.
City Light’s Debra Smith reminded everyone to charge device and have batteries on hand, since wind is in the forecast as well as snow. If there are outages, SCL crews work to restore the lines that will get the most people reconnected. SPU’s Jeff Fowler reiterated what was announced earlier and included in our running coverage – some customers will be skipped today (if you are, keep your carts out for potential pickup tomorrow).
11:01 AM: The briefing’s over. We’re substituting a screengrab atop this story where the live video was, and will add the archived video when it’s available.
1:51 PM: That video is now added above.
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