West Seattle, Washington
07 Tuesday
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.
(TUESDAY SCHOOL INFO: Changes are ALL LISTED HERE)
5:35 AM: Good morning. A bit more snow overnight – the National Weather Service has extended the Winter Weather Advisory and has a new alert starting tonight for even more possible. Here are our infolinks:
SCHOOL CHANGES: Listed here, including Seattle Public Schools‘ 2-hour delay
METRO CHANGES: None in our area so far, but here’s the systemwide list
SDOT WINTER WEATHER MAP: See treated/plowed streets here
SDOT TRAVELERS’ MAP: The map we regularly feature with cameras, alerts
OUR TRAFFIC CAMS PAGE: Cameras particularly relevant to WS and vicinity
FORECAST INFO: National Weather Service topline – advisory until 10 am, new alert for tonight
WARMING CENTER: In West Seattle, go to American Legion Post 160
Got info? Text/call 206-293-6302. More updates throughout the morning.
5:42 AM: Just dispatched, car stuck with dead battery on Admiral onramp to eastbound West Seattle Bridge.
6:12 AM: SDOT reports a stalled vehicle on the Delridge onramp to EB bridge. Also note, we’re continuing to add school delays and other changes at the link in our list – 15 schools/districts on the list now.
6:27 AM: Neighborcare Health‘s High Point clinic is opening late today, 10 am. If and when we get more than a few non-school delays during inclement weather, we’ll start a separate list, but for now, we’ll mention in-stream like this.
6:45 AM: Just dispatched – stalled vehicle at High Point Drive and Juneau. … If you use Recology (which has some business customers around here, we believe), note that they’re expecting service delays today around King County.
6:55 AM: One of the schools on our list has just had a big change in plan – big enough we’re mentioning it here too – Kennedy Catholic HS (in Burien, but with more than a few students from West Seattle) is now CLOSED for the day.
7:27 PM: Via Twitter, Emma mentions that the 21X in Arbor Heights seems to be off-schedule. If you missed this story Monday, Metro’s reminders and updates noted that some routes – like that one – are affected by conditions elsewhere in th city.
7:47 AM: Another major school change to the south … Highline Public Schools (White Center and points south) are now CLOSED for the day, so we’ve updated our list again.
8:07 AM: Just in – SPU texted to say that some West Seattle (and other) areas with Tuesday pickup will be delayed a day. The text points to the SPU website, which says:
Unsafe, icy roads are impacting residential garbage, recycling, and food/yard waste collection today in specific areas. SPU contractors will run partial residential solid waste routes today, servicing residential areas where street conditions provide safe access. Most business and multifamily routes are running on normal schedule today.
Scheduled Tuesday residential customers in the Fauntleroy and Delridge areas in SW Seattle and Ballard area in NW Seattle will not be serviced today due to icy and unsafe streets. Other potentially impacted areas may also include some steep blocks in Queen Anne, Magnolia, Maple Leaf and Wedgewood areas. Customers not serviced today will be delayed until tomorrow, Wednesday, to provide safe access
And of course, that too COULD be iffy – IF the potential additional snow arrives.
8:38 AM: Police are being dispatched to a report of a driver hitting a mother and child at 41st/Admiral. No serious injury reported.
8:43 AM: If you haven’t been out yet, our photo is a reminder of the difference between side streets (not plowed or de-iced) and arterials:
9:16 AM: The mayor and various city-department reps are having another briefing this morning, at 10:15 am. We’re told Seattle Channel will stream it.
9:58 AM: Crash reported in the 2900 block of SW Avalon Way; police are headed there.
2:51 PM NOTE: We’re posting major updates separately this afternoon – awaiting the next forecast update; we’ve already published cancellation announcement for this afternoon/evening from Seattle Parks and Seattle Public Schools.
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.
7:54 PM: Thanks to Keri for the tip. The Vashon Island School District is the first in our area to announce a planned change for tomorrow, a 2.5-hour late start. If any other districts or individual students make announcements tonight, we’ll add them to this story; otherwise, we’ll start publishing early-morniing coverage at 4 am again tomorrow (which is when Seattle Public Schools plans to again make its decision).
9:01 PM: South Seattle College (WSB sponsor) has announced it will start at 10 am Tuesday; anything scheduled for an earlier start is canceled.
Thanks to all the schools that notified us directly today – best way to do that is voice or text, 206-293-6302.
ADDED EARLY TUESDAY: We will not be updating this any longer – the new list is here.
(WSB photos)
With no official city “warming center” in West Seattle so far, despite this week’s below-normal temperatures, American Legion Post 160 has stepped up to fill a void. Says Post 160 commander Keith Hughes, “We don’t have cots, blankets, or pillows, but we have a warm, dry building with restroom and coffee. We will stay open 24 hours if the need is here.”
Post 160 is at 3618 SW Alaska in The Triangle (here’s a map). They want to circulate the word as widely as possible, so: “Please ask your churches and other social organization to post a notice on their doors. If you see people on benches, in doorways, etc. please stop and tell them we are open for them.”
(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.
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