(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:

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:

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.

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.

11:23 PM: Even with SDOT crews out on the arterials, be aware that Tuesday morning’s danger is going to be in getting to those de-iced (etc.) streets. Shown above is a non-arterial street up here (east of Lincoln Park, ~300 elevation) that had a slick coating of light snow by late evening, and the temperature’s below freezing, so untreated streets/sidewalks will be like this. Meantime, the National Weather Service has extended its Winter Weather Advisory alert again, this time until 7 am. It warns of the possibility of “additional snow accumulations of up to two inches.”

ADDED 4:17 AM TUESDAY: Now the Winter Weather Advisory has been extended to 10 am, and a new Winter Storm Watch will be in effect 6 pm tonight through 7 am Wednesday.

(Photo sent by Al)

11:59 AM: The National Weather Service‘s Winter Weather Advisory alert for our area, originally expiring at 8 am, is extended until 10 tonight. The NWS says you’re likely to see more snow showers, with “additional light accumulations of less than one inch.”

1:23 PM: We’re in the middle of a relatively long-running snow shower right now.

4:22 PM: As showers continue, the advisory has been extended until midnight.

(Photo by James Bratsanos)

10:07 PM: As of the top of the hour, no snow sightings in West Seattle – mostly overcast, upper 30s. But as the photos show, the clouds that have dropped snow on points north of the city were visible from here before nightfall:

(Photo by Trileigh Tucker)

Both the National Weather Service (see this tweet) and weather analyst Cliff Mass (see his update) say the convergence zone is “sliding south.” The Winter Weather Advisory remains in effect until 6 am, and we’ll be on watch through the night.

10:41 PM: Thanks for the comments, tweets, and texts – snow sightings in north West Seattle.

11:07 PM: More reports – it’s continuing to spread southward.

11:38 PM: Car tops are now frosted up here over Lincoln Park.

12:35 AM: Still very light, and no accumulation beyond the car dusting.

4 AM: Some areas got notable snow – like Alki (Robert Spears‘ photo, above, taken just before 1 am, and this one from Pelicans south of Alki Point) –

… and others did not, like here in Upper Fauntleroy, where the car-top dusting is where it stopped. We’ll be launching morning coverage soon; for starters, Seattle Public Schools has announced a 2-hour delay (school changes are here).

3:23 PM: The National Weather Service has just downgraded the alert level to a Winter Weather Advisory, in effect from now until 6 am Monday, for the purple areas on the map above (which is from the NWS’s regional home page). As you’ve probably noticed, it’s sunny and in the 40s right now (though Snohomish County, for example, is seeing snow). The advisory says that’s expected to change: “Snow expected. Total snow accumulations of up to two inches.” Here’s the updated forecast.

4:53 PM: Metro has sent a news release with reminders that distlll to this:

What’s different this year, what’s new?

Easier-to-find snow bus route information at MetroWinter.com
New printed snow brochures in English and Spanish
More bus routes added to the Emergency Snow Network, totaling about 65 core bus routes, DART routes and chained shuttles

7:02 PM: “Just in case” news releases keep coming in. Seattle Public Schools says if anything happens requiring changes, they’ll make a decision by 3:45 am.

That’s the newest alert map from the National Weather Service, which now has our area under a Winter Storm Watch starting at 4 pm Sunday. The summary: “Heavy snow possible. Total snow accumulations of a trace to 2 inches possible with locally up to 4 inches.” Weather analyst Cliff Mass goes into more detail in his newest update, saying it looks like the south part of the city (that’s us) looks to be in line for more than the northern part of the city. He adds that an array of outlooks he’s analyzed show, “Virtually no chance of snow in Seattle before 3 PM, but considerable uncertainty for amounts after that.” Let us know when you spot the first flakes (206-293-6302 is our 24/7 hotline, text or voice.)

The National Weather Service says we haven’t had a daytime high below 30 degrees since 2014, and haven’t had two consecutive daily highs below 30 degrees since 2010, but both could happen next week. The NWS’s updated Special Weather Statement and forecast say the big chill starts arriving Sunday night – Tuesday and Wednesday are the days expected to have the lowest lows.

(WSB photos/video by Patrick Sand)

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

Will we see significant snow soon?

While the forecasters keep watch on that, “We want to make sure we’re ready as a city. … we’ve got plans,” Mayor Jenny Durkan assured the media gathered for a briefing/Q&A at the city Emergency Operations Center downtown this afternoon. We were there and recorded it all on video, which includes other city/county officials:

A big theme: The “shovel your sidewalk” theme we noted earlier this week. The mayor stressed: “If we hit the snow period … check on your neighbors if you can. …. And help them shovel their sidewalks … our sidewalks are the way that people can get around in our city.” Go get a snow shovel or salt if you don’t have yours yet – flashlight batteries too, “candles and warm blankets,” her advice continued.

Sidewalk-responsibility awareness was boosted in a resolution sponsored last year by West Seattle/South Park Councilmember Lisa Herbold, who was also at the EOC.

Though Herbold didn’t take the podium, she spoke with reporters afterward to elaborate on the sidewalk plan: The emphasis is on arterials in urban villages, followed by arterials on other transit routes. Here’s a city memo she provided post-meeting outlining the resolution and the resulting awareness campaign:

Street-use inspectors will be out checking on sidewalks in those priority areas, said SDOT director Sam Zimbabwe. They will notify people “who aren’t taking their responsibility seriously” – if a notification doesn’t get action, a citation can follow; Herbold said potential fines range from $50 for residential violations to $250 for commercial property (the former is a reduction, also outlined in the memo above).

Sidewalks aside, Zimbabwe also said the winter-response plan has been updated. For plowing, buses’ snow routes, emergency access, schools are priorities. Protected bike lanes will get snow-clearing attention too. But whatever your vehicle, “Don’t drive if you don’t have to during a snowstorm. … Pay attention to road-closure signs.” He mentioned the SDOT map (PDF) showing which routes will be prioritized for plowing. “We haven’t radically changed the level of plowing that we’re going to do.” What they did last year regarding plowing seemed to go fairly well, he said. The current plan – subject to change as the forecast evolves – is that snow-focused staff will start deploying Sunday evening; “equipment is ready – salt, plows.”

Since the city has 35 snowplows to cover its 70 million square feet, Mayor Durkan counseled patience: “Don’t expect your neighborhood will be plowed immediately.”

“Stay informed” was the advice from Emergency Management director Barb Graff. She also pitched alert.seattle.gov and Smart 911, and reiterated getting supplies “that you might need … Go ahead and do your shopping now.” Snow is charming “for the first eighth of an inch,” she observed … after that, not so much.

The mayor also vowed that they’d be able to bring unsheltered people inside. “We will open cold-weather shelters and have more capacity.” Human Services Department director Jason Johnson elaborated: “Every winter we extend capacity of shelter capability – 85 additional beds,” and they plan to open 100 more beds at Seattle Center starting Sunday night. That’s an overnight-only shelter, he added, but the Armory will also be open during the day for people to stay out of the cold.

Regarding transit, Metro deputy general manager Terry White advised people to check metrowinter.com early to get briefed on “what services are available in your area.”

He promised, “We’re ready regardless of whatever Mother Nature (brings)” – communication consolidation is what they’ve been working on.

In closing, “Government is only part of the equation,” said the mayor. As for that patience she advised – apply it to forecasters too: “Half the time they predict it, it doesn’t come.”

You might see a few flakes early Thursday morning, the National Weather Service says, but don’t panic. Its newest forecast update is out, and while we might see a bit of snow, the more-serious potential still doesn’t show up until late in the weekend – Sunday night or later. Also note that Tuesday’s high is predicted to be in the 20s! As we mentioned yesterday, the city has invited media to a preparedness briefing tomorrow, and we’ll be there.

So far, mountain-peak peeks – like the view above from Alki on New Year’s Day – have been the closest thing to snow sightings we’ve had this winter. But that might change later this week. Here are two updates:

-Weather analyst Cliff Mass breaks it all down here, saying late Thursday/early Friday might bring light snow, and Monday looks POTENTIALLY snowier.

-The National Weather Service‘s forecast discussion thinks the late Thursday/early Friday possibility is more a “north of Everett” thing, adding, “Uncertainty remains for the prospect of lowland snow early next week …”

Meantime, city leaders plan a snow-readiness media briefing on Thursday, and we’re planning to cover it, so if you have questions about how the city will handle the next snowstorm (whenever it happens), let us know so we can get answers!