(Salted 35th SW just north of SW Thistle, photographed this afternoon)

ORIGINAL REPORT, 5:44 PM WEDNESDAY: The National Weather Service has now issued an official alert for the next round of expected snow, Friday-Saturday – which might be just the first round! See the Special Weather Statement in its entirety here. It includes:

… This system will bring a round of widespread lowland snow and strong northeast outflow winds from the Fraser River Valley. Expected impacts with this system include: Cold temperatures, snow-covered roads, strong outflow winds and blowing snow for portions of the area.

Precipitation will spread from the north to the south beginning Friday morning. Temperatures will be cold enough for snow Friday from Everett northward, with a rain/snow mix south of Everett. Precipitation will transition to snow over the remainder of the interior as the cold outflow from the Fraser River Valley works through the remainder of the interior by late Friday night.

Variable snowfall totals are expected, with snow peaking early Saturday morning. The most likely snow accumulations include 3-4″ over most of the lowlands, with heavier amounts possible for the Hood Canal area, the north Olympic Peninsula, and the north interior including the San Juan Islands. Cold ground temperatures over the lowlands may enhance initial accumulations. …

Weather analyst Cliff Mass sees the potential for up to 8″ around the Sound – here’s his take, including even more snow likely Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday, concluding:

SDOT, WSDOT, and other local departments of transportation need to get prepared for perhaps the snowiest period since the large snowfall of December 1996, when Seattle received 21 inches.

But tomorrow is expected to be snowless, so now’s the time to start getting ready!

THURSDAY MORNING UPDATE: Still looking snowless today – the upgraded Winter Storm Watch alert kicks in at noon Friday.

(Photo by Chris Frankovich)

A colorful end to a day blanketed in white. No new weather alerts currently but the temperature could be in the upper teens by morning, according to the updated forecast.

(Photo by David Hutchinson)

You’ve probably heard talk that more snow might be on the way later in the week. The newest National Weather Service “forecast discussion” says it’s too soon to say for sure but it’s not likely before Friday.

(Photo by Lynn Hall)

But in the short run, two sunny days are expected – so we might see more scenes like these. First: Our Tuesday weather/traffic/transit/schools/etc. watch will get going by 5 am.

Before we get to the part of the day where everyone will start looking ahead to tomorrow … some snowy scenes.

Greg Harrington sent that photo of a hummingbird, explaining, “This poor guy was under some cover on my back deck hoping the feeder won’t freeze.” Do remember to thaw some water for the birds, too. … From North Delridge, Joy Patman captured the beauty of Youngstown Cultural Arts Center against the snow:

Read More

(MONDAY SCHOOL CHANGES: Update – see separate story)

(Added: 4:40 pm in Morgan Junction, photo from Tamsen Spengler)

FIRST REPORT, 3:10 PM: Thanks for all the reports! We’ve seen some of the first light snow ourselves, traveling on Roxbury after leaving a meeting. We’ve also seen evidence that SDOT has been out treating the roads. More coverage to come!

3:28 PM: We’re in The Junction and it’s a steady snow shower. Not yet sticking.

3:44 PM: In south Morgan Junction, it’s sticking on cars and planting strips/yards. Getting similar reports in comments and via Twitter from other areas.

4:32 PM: Continuing to snow lightly. The updated forecast projects about an inch tonight, maybe another inch tomorrow morning. We’ll be watching weather and traffic (roads are bare and wet now – see cameras here) throughout the night and into the morning – if you see something we should know about, our 24/7 hotline (text or voice) is 206-293-6302.

6:05 PM: While the roads were bare and wet just over an hour ago, when we took the picture above this line, that’s changed – at least on side streets:

7:31 PM: Driving home from a Super Bowl party? Be careful. Snow has stopped for now, and no major road problems are reported, but temps are close to freezing and we might see ice as they drop further. No official total yet but Kristina, near West Seattle Nursery, sends this measurement:

7:55 PM: Update from here in Upper Fauntleroy:

8:08 PM: New weather alert – Winter Weather Advisory saying at least another inch of snow is likely.

8:43 PM: Regarding buses – “Metro currently plans to pre-chain most of the bus fleet as a precaution prior to the AM commute. (But) We don’t yet know whether buses will shift to snow routes.”

9:16 PM: From the West Seattle/Fauntleroy YMCA (WSB sponsor):

WEST SEATTLE AND FAUNTLEROY DELAYED OPENING ON MONDAY: Due to the overnight weather advisory predicting 1-3” of snow, both our West Seattle and Fauntleroy locations will open at 9am on Monday. There will be no AM Kids Corner at Fauntleroy YMCA. All school based programs will follow the SPS weather schedule (no decision has been made by SPS yet).

9:23 PM: Now the school announcements are rolling in. We will start a separate story for these soon but first we’ll add them here:
Hope Lutheran School, closed, no preschool/extended care
Seattle Lutheran High School, 10:30 am start
Highline Public Schools, 2 hours late, morning/afternoon classes canceled for preschool and ECEAP.
Vashon Island School District, 2 1/2 hours late.
(NOTE: PLEASE SEE THIS NEW MONDAY MORNING LIST FOR SCHOOL INFO)

ADDED 10:06 PM: Seattle Public Schools, 2 hours late, buses on snow routes, other details here, including:

o door-to-door service. No preschool or Head Start. No out of district service. No taxi cab, therapy, partial day or shuttle transportation. No before school activities. Check with your school regarding athletic events. Check with your childcare provider about child care.

ADDED 10:21 PM: South Seattle College starts at 10 am. Classes scheduled to start earlier are canceled.

12:42 AM: No additions to the list yet.

5:04 AM: Changes are coming in, including SPS now CLOSED for today. We’re starting a list here. Call or text us at 206-293-6302 with school (and other) info.

The newest Special Weather Statement is still projecting snow showers as a possibility Sunday night into Monday:

There is a threat of lowland snow showers across Western Washington beginning Sunday afternoon in Whatcom county and spreading to the remainder of Western Washington Sunday evening as a cool and moist weather system tracks over the region. Snow levels will be close to sea level. Given the showery nature of this system, snow amounts will not be uniform with heavier accumulations possible in stronger showers. Showers will decrease Monday morning as the system exits south of the area.

Weather analyst Cliff Mass also thinks we’ll see some flakes.

5:35 PM: “For snow fans out there from the Puget Sound eastward, the … model solutions are not what you wanted to see for Sunday night.” So says the National Weather Service in its latest “forecast discussion,” and that’s why the NWS has lifted the weather advisory suggesting some Sunday night/Monday morning snow. It’s not entirely out of the realm of possibility, but the NWS thinks the moisture isn’t likely to meet up with the cold temperatures. By the way, tomorrow – when more than 100,000 people will be outdoors at the viaduct/tunnel celebration – is expected to be partly sunny!

6:31 AM SATURDAY: But wait! A new Special Weather Statement with a renewed projection of potential snow showers Sunday afternoon into Monday!

ORIGINAL REPORT, 12:07 PM: Thanks to John Laspina for the view of Mount Rainier, the Moon, and Venus early today. You might have heard some chatter so far about possible snow in a few days. There are no alerts so far but the National Weather Service “forecast discussion” says snow showers are possible toward the end of the weekend. And temperatures are dropping, whether moisture meets up with the cold air or not – highs in the 30s early next week.

ADDED 5:41 PM: The NWS warns it’s still too soon to know with any certainty what’ll happen: “Coldest air of the season arrives later on Sunday. Potential for some snow showers exists late Sunday into Monday across the area as a system slides to our south. However, it is still too early to determine amounts and location of the snow.”

FRIDAY MORNING: Now the NWS is out with a Special Weather Statement.

A magical midwinter sunset tonight – thank you all for sending photos! Above, from Bruce Easter; below, from Jim Spraker:

Next, from David Hutchinson, at Constellation Park:

He also captured Mount Rainier:

James Bratsanos caught the Olympics before they were gone for the night:

And one more view of the color at its peak, from Marc Fendel:

Thanks to everyone who sent photos; we were in a shades-drawn meeting room (covering the latest on light rail – full report tomorrow) and missed seeing it firsthand.

Did you get to see the fog moving across the water this morning?

James Bratsanos shares the view above; Susanna Moore shares the view below:

Sunny days through Tuesday, says the National Weather Service!

12:30 AM: The National Weather Service says the gusts predicted in its High Wind Warning alert for our area are definitely on the way within the next few hours. They’ve already kicked up on the coast. We’ll be on watch as always; updates to come.

1:40 AM: It’s here. “Things are escalating quickly,” the NWS confirms.

1:51 AM: First outage reports are in, from Admiral. (update) 3,100+ customers in NE West Seattle – here’s a screengrab of the outage map:

2:05 AM: Also now 400+ further south.

2:15 AM: The NWS reports a 60 mph gust at Sea-Tac. (Its own HQ in North Seattle lost power and is on a generator now.) … Alki is part of another 4,000+ now out. Part of The Junction too. Updated map screengrab:

Remember that while SCL assigns estimated restoration times, those are in essence just guesses. Going on 50,000 customers now out service-area-wide (about 8,000 of those in West Seattle) so it’s going to be a while. Keep your fridge closed to maximize the amount of time what’s in there will be OK. (Other outage-related advice is here.)

2:51 AM: Top gusts so far around the region, including that 60 MPH at Sea-Tac, are listed here. Meantime, a traffic note: A crash on SB 99 just north of the West Seattle Bridge exit had someone pinned in their car so all SB lanes are blocked for a “rescue extrication” response. 2 people are hurt.

3:33 AM: The period of strongest wind was predicted to be “brief” – it’s been about two hours now, and it sounds a little calmer out there, so here’s hoping it’s peaked. Meantime, another traffic note: EM reports in comments that a pole and wires are down on Harbor Avenue SW by Jack Block Park, which is closed there as a result. … West Seattle power outages holding at ~8,000 customers. If you are awake when yours is restored, please let us know, in comments, or by texting our hotline (206-293-6302) – SCL doesn’t have an online public record of outages so reader reports are valuable for our archives; thank you!

4:03 AM: Power progress – part of the first big outage zone is back on; commenter in Luna Park reports restoration, and what was a 3,100+-customer outage including that area has now dropped to 1,900+. Another note: While we’ve focused on West Seattle outages, points south in North Highline/Burien are out too – City Light serves them, so you can check the same map. And if you’re curious about other areas, such as Vashon, the Puget Sound Energy outage map is here. (While PSE only provides gas service in our area, it’s the electric utility for many other communities.)

5:55 AM: Thanks for the updates! More power restored (see comments); now about 5,000 still out. … SFD has a “full response” headed to a house in the 2600 block of 38th SW, but it sounds like they’re downsizing, not a major incident.

6:05 AM: Most units are being dismissed from that call, now described as likely a “light fixture.”

8:28 AM: Now that it’s light, it’s on to storm aftermath. Looks like about 600 customers are still out, scattered around West Seattle, of 22,000+ service-area-wide. No reports of injuries – haven’t heard yet of any major damage in our area, but if you have any info to share, we continue to appreciate reports/tips, in the comments or whatever other way works for you – thank you! … Here’s a Weather Service explanation of why it got so windy, so fast.

11:44 AM: City Light warns that some people “in the south end” might lose power again for a few hours while they work on a complicated repair involving a “broken pole” where three feeder lines converge.