The National Weather Service‘s “high wind warning” for our area has been revised because “the storm is moving faster and winds are expected to begin rising sooner than previously expected.” The NWS expects the “strongest winds” in this area to be “during the early to mid-afternoon.” Current forecast is for south to southeast wind 25 mph to 40 mph, gusting up to 60 mph. We’ll be monitoring the situation throughout the day; if your neighborhood is hit with wind effects such as a power outage, downed tree or wires, etc., once you’ve reported to authorities, please let us know – text or call 206-293-6302. Here are some of the numbers you might need:

REPORTING A POWER OUTAGE: 206-684-3000

REPORTING A ROAD/SIDEWALK HAZARD: SDOT’s 24-hour dispatch is 206-386-1218; if you can’t reach them and it’s a truly urgent hazard, call 911.

3:51 PM: The weather alert for tomorrow has been upgraded this afternoon to a “High Wind Warning,” and the National Weather Service‘s forecast discussion describes it as a “classic Puget Sound windstorm scenario,” with sustained wind from the south/southeast/southwest potentially 35-45 mph and gusts as high as 70 mph. This is all supposed to happen Sunday afternoon/evening, so you have time to charge everything, get flashlights handy, and other precautions for possible outages.

9:44 PM: As noted in comments, there’s now more of a possibility this might be a little weaker than the afternoon projection – you can read the NWS’s newest “forecast discussion” by going here. As of right now, they’re keeping the warnings up, since the possibility of winds strong enough to bring down trees and cause outages remains. We’ll see what the morning forecast updates (there’s usually another by 4 am, for night owls/earlybirds) bring.

6:41 PM FRIDAY: It’s early – but the National Weather Service wants you to know there’s a chance of a windstorm Sunday afternoon through late Sunday night, possibly bringing southerly winds 20 to 40 mph and gusts up to 60, so it has issued a “High Wind Watch” (read it here). We’ll update through the weekend, as usual.

6:51 AM SATURDAY: The High Wind Watch is officially in effect noon Sunday-5 am Monday, as of the most-recent update (see it here).

2:13 PM SATURDAY: Now the alert is up to a ‘high wind warning,’ noon-11 pm Sunday, gusts up to 70 mph.

ORIGINAL REPORT, 9:35 PM: If you’re by the water – a “coastal flood warning” is out for the early-morning hours, 2-8 am. The high tide at 5:38 am will be almost 12 and a half feet, and the National Weather Service says the wind, waves, and “unusually low atmospheric pressure” could combine to cause trouble on the shore. “Normally flooding with the tides would be minor … however, winds will whip up waves of 4 to 6 feet around the time of high tide, with water coming over seawalls and impacting structures in lowlying areas near the water. Flooding is expected around the time of high tide.” In this area, the low-pressure “anomaly” could add almost two feet to the tide, for a 14.3 high tide. (Thanks to Lura for pointing this out; her family is “checking sandbags and setting up a pump” just in case.)

ADDED 6:16 AM: A “wind advisory” is in effect now too, until 4 pm. We’re tracking the weather along with traffic this morning, here.

(SCROLL DOWN for the newest weather/power-outage updates and photos)

3:19 PM: We have word of two outages so far – the Seattle City Light map shows 100+ customers out in the Seola/south Arbor Heights area:

And we just received a call from someone in Gatewood – right about the time our power flickered (but stayed on) here, south of Gatewood. It’s been about an hour and a half since the wind started kicking up – some gusts, but not a lot of sustained strong wind, so far.

3:40 PM: Gatewood’s still not on the map (California/Orchard was the area mentioned by the caller), but that historically outage-plagued area doesn’t always show. None of the lights on California in that area were out when we went by a few minutes ago.

3:51 PM: Now we have an explanation for the Gatewood outage – Cynthia and Scott have sent photos of a tree down on Gatewood Road:

4:05 PM: Thanks to Cathy for this report: “At Genesee and 49th, a tree has pulled down a wire, which is dangling into the middle of the street. Cars are swerving around it. Tried to call 911 but got put on hold for 15 minutes. May want to give folks a heads up.”

4:16 PM: Just got to that area – all clear now, and a City Light vehicle was just leaving.

4:27 PM: We’re now in Gatewood, where a variety of wires are down on Glenridge (same area as tree photo above). Neighbors have put out cones and have called it in but haven’t seen SCL yet.

4:44 PM: And an oddity that might just be coincidental to the wind, or not – Gay sent this photo of a “flying starfish,” explaining that a “neighbor kid and his chaperone” found it – about a third of a mile inland!

Gay says they’re speculating an eagle dropped it.

5:08 PM: Per comments, new trouble on Genesee – tree/wires at 48th.

5:21 PM: We’ve also had, for the third day in a row, rainbow reports! Thanks for the photos – this is from Al:

And right before the rainbow, Deb photographed hail in North Admiral:

Whitecaps on the water this afternoon, as this photo from Alki by W.T. Vandermark shows:

5:44 PM: Back to Gatewood, where Scott says City Light hasn’t arrived yet, though SDOT has helped block off the affected area:

The wind advisory remains in effect until 9 tonight.

6:30 PM: According to the City Light map, the number of customers still out in Seola/south Arbor Heights is down to 51.

6:44 PM: New tree trouble, tweeted by Mike Jensen:

9 PM: Gatewood is back on, per Zephyr in comments. But the SCL map still has 51 out in Seola/south AH.

9:18 PM: Make that “some” in Gatewood – Scott says City Light is there but isn’t working yet, and his neighborhood remains without electricity.

11:54 PM: The new month might begin in blustery style. The National Weather Service has a wind advisory up for our area and vicinity, noon-10 pm Tuesday, with southerly winds that could gust up to 45 mph. Read the advisory here – and keep everything charged.

5:10 AM: Slight revision in the time frame – the NWS now has the advisory in effect from noon-9 pm.

9:53 PM: Yes, just in case you’re looking for validation, that was thunder. We’ve had a bit of everything today – rain, hail, wind, rainbows (did you see the photos?) – so probably shouldn’t be a surprise. Checking to see if more’s expected.

10:01 PM: Though it wasn’t in the main forecast, we did find a mention in the 9 pm “forecast discussion” from the National Weather Service – “AND WITH SLIGHT INSTABILITY…CANNOT RULE OUT AN ISOLATED LIGHTNING STRIKE.” (The discussion is published in all caps.) So that MIGHT be all.

10:27 PM: And a weather stat:

9:05 AM: Thanks to Paul Panzl on Genesee Hill for the rainbow photo taken moments ago – a rare westward view, as a sunbreak punctuated this morning’s showery weather. Looks as if the mythical “pot of gold at the end of the rainbow” might be a few hundred feet down. Could get windy this morning, the National Weather Service warns, with gusts possibly up to 36 mph.

ADDED: Ron tweeted this photo:

ADDED 4:44 PM: And rainbows to the north this afternoon!

That one, showing Luna/Anchor Park, is from Susanna Moore from Niederberger Contracting (WSB sponsor); the one below is from Carol Wagener:

Thanks again for the photos – we also showcase West Seattle images in our daily calendar previews – send your pic to editor@westseattleblog.com (or, if it’s breaking news, text 206-293-6302) – thank you!

Thanks to Martha Kongsgaard for the rainbow photo from The Junction, right around this evening’s sunset.

(Photo by James Bratsanos)

Thanks for the photos!

(Photo by Lynn Hall)

(Photo by John Bartell)

Along with those views of tonight’s colorful sunset, here’s a bonus view of how the day began:

(Photo by Joann Manke)

We appreciate the photos – editor@westseattleblog.com, or if it’s breaking news, text 206-293-6302 – we have a Flickr group, too!

Thanks to Jim Spraker (above) and James Bratsanos (below) for sharing their views of the spectacular Super Bowl Sunday sunset (via editor@westseattleblog.com), knowing you might have missed it if you were watching the game without a westward view nearby.

We photographed it too – here’s our view via Instagram:

Might be a few more ahead – the forecast includes sunshine for at least the next few days!

(WSB photo)
A break in the rain would be good news for neighbors beneath that bluff in southwest West Seattle. Since the slide Thursday night at 47th SW and Maplewood, they’ve joined forces to clear their private drive “enough to get in and out,” says resident Kathleen, who adds that they’re hopeful “the sliding has stopped” but won’t really know until it’s dried for about a week. She estimates this is the tenth slide in the 35 years she’s lived in the neighborhood.

(ADDED: WSB photo, Sunday high tide at Don Armeni Boat Ramp)
It’s a blustery Sunday, and one weather alert is in effect – a “coastal flood advisory” until noon today. The rain and wind are accompanying one more “king tide” – 12.4 feet at 10:27 am – and the alert warns that as a result, “low-lying areas next to Puget Sound … will likely see a few inches of water for an hour or two around high tide.”

P.S. If you have an urgent road/sidewalk hazard to report (tree down, etc.) – 206-386-1218 is SDOT’s around-the-clock dispatch. We were just asked for that number so we’re sharing it again.

(SCROLL DOWN FOR UPDATES, including city’s overnight plan)

12:18 PM: No, you’re not imagining things. If you’re in West Seattle’s upper elevations (High Point, Arbor Heights, Upper Fauntleroy …), those are snowflakes, very light flurry so far. The National Weather Service‘s forecast wasn’t expecting them until overnight. But let us know if you’re seeing them too.

12:42 PM: More intense flurry now!

(Gatewood snow, by Cindi Barker)
1:07 PM: Starting to stick here (300+ feet uphill and east of Lincoln Park), as some are noting in comments. Be careful driving/walking – it’s slick. By the way, our last visible snow was on December 27th.

(Fauntleroy snow, by Clyde Suggs)
1:21 PM: Still snowing big, fluffy flakes here.

(Video added Sunday night – thanks to Dorothy – excited kids @ WS Farmers’ Market as snowfall began)
And the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency has just lifted the King County burn ban.

(Video tweeted by @MetPatrick22 in Sunrise Heights – that’s Fire Station 37)
1:48 PM: Back to more of a flurry than a shower – the road’s wet, planting strips and lawns (etc.) have a dusting.

(Robin at Lincoln Park – photo by Erin Jackson)
2:09 PM: In case you wondered – as did one commenter – no changes resulting from the snow so far; just not enough for that. But we’ll be on watch as always, including overnight and into the early-morning hours – we have morning traffic coverage atop the main WSB page every weekday, and weather is included when conditions merit.

2:55 PM: Speaking of tomorrow morning – this is just in via e-mail from SDOT:

To support the safe flow of traffic, the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) will pretreat roads with salt brine and salt late Sunday to address potential ice or snow on arterial roadways.

Travelers are advised to check weather and roadway conditions prior to beginning their Monday morning commute. If possible, residents should consider delaying their trips in the morning to avoid potentially icy conditions. Information on winter weather preparedness, to include SDOT’s winter weather brochure and snow route map, can be found here.

3:10 PM: If you’re checking in at halftime – the snow’s stopped. For now, anyway.

No rain expected this New Year’s Eve, but the weather isn’t good news if you have respiratory challenges – the National Weather Service has issued an air-stagnation advisory for Seattle and vicinity, in effect 10 pm Wednesday through 10 am Monday. This means, as the advisory notes, that “due to limited movement of an air mass across the advisory area, pollution will increase to dangerous levels.” No burn ban so far, but that could change (you can check here or on the WSB West Seattle Weather page). It’ll be colder than usual, too – highs in the 30s, lows in the 20s.

11:56 AM: It’s not in the forecast, but a bit of snow is mixed with the rain falling in West Seattle right now – at least if you’re in the upper elevations.

We’ve heard from Sunrise Heights (above) and High Point so far, and we’re seeing it in Upper Fauntleroy.

12:05 PM: Also hearing from Arbor Heights and Fairmount. And it’s snowier here right now – but still too warm to stick.

12:18 PM: Vanessa in Highland Park comments that “it’s starting to stick in the yard.”

12:48 PM: Commenters also have seen a bit of snow at the lower elevations, in Admiral, Alki, Morgan. Back to light rain right now. But if you want to see more snow, you could take the Fauntleroy ferry over to Southworth – it’s definitely sticking in Kitsap County, according to photos/video on Twitter.

Just a note for “king tide” watchers: The 12.7-foot high tide at 6:49 am on Sunday morning will be the highest tide of December 2015, and not far from the highest tide of the winter, peaking at 12.9 three mornings in a row next month, January 13, 14, and 15. (Here’s the monthly chart; you can also consult a daily chart any time for a quick “when’s the next low/high tide?” look, via the WSB West Seattle Weather page.)

Tonight, we had enough of a break between storms for this vivid sunset to blaze through. Top photo is by Chris Frankovich; next one, with a pre-sunset rainbow at Alki, is by Marcus G:

And the glow from Upper Alki was caught by JayDee:

This had us wondering about winter solstice – it officially arrives one week from tomorrow, at 8:49 pm our time on Monday, December 21st.

8:32 PM: You might have noticed about two hours ago that the wind suddenly picked up in a big way – “house-rocking” velocity, we observed via Twitter at the time, but the National Weather Service hadn’t issued any alerts. Now, it has, as pointed out by Heather pointed out; the wind advisory warns of gusts up to 50 mph, and is in effect until noon Sunday.

8:55 PM P.S. – TRAFFIC: Thanks to everyone who’s called/texted/tweeted about trouble on the bridge tonight – first, a westbound crash; more recently, an eastbound crash, both on the westernmost section, between Fauntleroy/35th and Admiral. In both cases, lanes reopened before we could even publish something here, but we monitor traffic fairly closely on Twitter, so if you’re heading out or back, check there first.

10:28 PM: Roger caught the westbound 35th crash on his dashcam – it’s toward the end of the minute-long clip:

And thanks to Jason for a photo from Olson/Cambridge, where he says a crash reported about an hour ago involved this vehicle hitting a light fixture:

No major injuries reported in any of these crashes.