Thanks to Todd Vandemark for sharing that photo from tonight’s Valentine’s Day sunset – we’re sharing it while working on a couple other distinctly non-Valentiney stories. Enjoy the evening – more rain and wind is said to be on the way, but not right away.

Thanks to “Diver Laura” James doing some above-ground photography tonight after she spotted stormwater “going the wrong way” from a drain cover under the West Seattle Bridge (above) and along Harbor Avenue:

As you’ll see on this King County webpage, the rain is also overwhelming the system in a few spots – as we write this, four red triangles mark four combined-sewer overflows on the Duwamish, and if you look at the yellow spots, those mark earlier overflows. No CSOs are shown right now on the Puget Sound side of the system, though.

Another Monday, another weather alert. One week ago, we reported the National Weather Service suggesting a chance of snow the following weekend – and look what happened. Tonight, a new Special Weather Statement looks ahead to tomorrow night and early Wednesday, anticipating wind gusts of at least 40 mph and up to an inch of rain. Stay tuned!

If you still haven’t been out since the record (for a February 8th) snowfall – by all accounts, including our own, major roads are clear, side streets slushy. Metro is still on snow routes. We’ll update if/when there’s something to report.

(Second batch of photos added early evening; scroll down!)

1:30 PM: An aerial view begins this collection of snow scenes shared today from around West Seattle, in addition to what’s already been featured in our coverage:

Thanks to Jamie Kinney for sharing the quad-copter production. On to the photo files – some are making snowpeople, some are making mega-snowballs, like Lola near Ercolini Park:

And this mega-snowball, texted to us from Riverview Playfield:

Also from Riverview, Kristin explains, “Here’s a close-up of our Snow Girl named Hur. She’s wearing the trimmings of our Saturday gardening efforts.”

Texted from Morgan Junction – after all the cars we’ve shown, finally a pic of a snow-capped bicycle:

Of course, the Seahawks’ Super Bowl spirit continues with a 12th Snowman – built by 7-year-old Reese Pedersen:

Husky spirit, too! From Al in Arbor Heights:

More photos from WSB readers – from Yma:

From “Smokeycretin9“:

And from Patricia – “Gus the Snow Zombie.” She says, “Our boys had fun and needed a little help lifting the body parts. :-) He is 7 feet tall in North Admiral.”

Quiet beauty along Harbor Avenue, from David Hutchinson:

We expect to add at least a few more to this gallery later this afternoon- thanks to everyone who’s sent photos! (Including the ones shared on the WSB Facebook page – go have a look, including the “posts by others” section – and in a comment, the other side of the “Snow Lombardi Trophy” shown in our earlier coverage here!)

ADDED 5:53 PM: More photos! From Laura at Dragonfly Pavilion in North Delridge:

From Leighellen, sledding with a view at Hamilton Viewpoint:

Doug B shows us sledding in Seaview – here’s Andy, with leftover Seahawks hair:

Jason spotted dogsledding happening in Gatewood …

while at Myrtle’s place, Ashfur the cat was NOT sledding:

Zack‘s snowpeople were hanging out on the deck with … a cold one. Or two:

“Richard Snowman” is the creation of Gail’s son Alex, not only in honor of #25 but also, he’s celebrating his 25th birthday (and visiting from L.A.):

This next 12th Snowman (with friends) is courtesy of Brad:

And here we have Jon, Riley, Kelsey, and SuperSnowMan (photo shared by Katie):

We’re still going through the mailbox – will add more or create a different group, depending on how the night goes. Thanks again!

(SCROLL DOWN for updates including lists of what’s on/off, plus infolinks. Photos? editor@westseattleblog.com – thanks!)

(Live West Seattle Bridge view via SDOT)
Launching Sunday morning coverage. For starters –

INFOLINKS
*Metro buses remain on snow routes
*See where the city’s plowed/salted/de-iced recently on this map
*See West Seattle/vicinity traffic cams here
*See King County’s White Center traffic cams here
*See Saturday night coverage here; added photo gallery here

HAPPENING AS SCHEDULED/OPEN
*Hiawatha Pancake Breakfast, 8 am-noon – details here (see photo below!)
*West Seattle Ultimate Family Frisbee, per FB
*WestSide Baby Tea (2 pm at SeaTac Hilton; co-sponsored by WSB)
*West Seattle Farmers’ Market (10 am-2 pm; Jason reports setup is under way as of 8:24 am)
*Little Pilgrim School open house (11 am-1:30 pm)
*Quadrato open 11-8, Pizzeria 22 open at 4, as usual, per note from proprietor Cary

CLOSED/CANCELED (we’ll update this list as we get reports)
*West Seattle Runner (WSB sponsor) group run
*Salty’s on Alki (WSB sponsor) is closed for brunch but expects to be open by 4 pm happy hour, 4:30 dinner
*Westside Unitarian Universalist Congregation service/morning events are canceled
*Peace Lutheran Church morning worship/education canceled
*Center for Movement & Healing has canceled 10 am Nia, 11:30 am Feldenkrais

We are checking on status of today’s events – PLEASE let us know, if you’re involved with one, whether it’s on OR off – editor@westseattleblog.com is the best way to reach us. More to come.

7:51 AM: In Highland Park, SW Kenyon is blocked on the hill between 9th and 5th – we are hearing that on the scanner AND just received this photo:

8:05 AM: Hiawatha Pancake Breakfast is *on*, per comments. (added) So is the WestSide Baby Tea. Keep checking the lists atop this story for other notes on what is ON, or off – we’ll be continuing to update as we get info.

8:50 AM: Subtle signs of melting snow … clumps falling off branches; drips heard in storm drains and downspouts. Clear your nearest storm drain if you can. Forecast says we MIGHT see flurries, but otherwise the warming will continue and the temperature could get into the low 40s. Monitoring the scanner, we hear police dealing with the aftermath of last night – cars blocking side streets where they slid, etc. Some hills remain closed – like SW Thistle between 35th and 37th, reports Pastor Erik Kindem from Peace Lutheran Church at 39th/Thistle in his note announcing they’re canceling morning worship/education today.

9:24 AM: From Christopher Boffoli, checking out the Hiawatha Community Center pancake breakfast for WSB:

It’s on until noon – so you have plenty of time to go have good food and good times for a good cause. Christopher also has a road report: “Some arterials are clear to wet pavement. But long stretches of California are unplowed and slushy. Some side streets are either slush or packed snow. Very slick. Hills like Oregon from Cali to the Junction are open but untreated. People are driving too fast and not leaving enough room.” (Minutes later …) And if you have to go to the airport, @nancybooks tweeted this:

@westseattleblog Auburn to SeaTac airport all good via 167/405/518. Normal speed limits, no issues. Just dicey until main roads.

— Nancy (@nancybooks) February 9, 2014

10:08 AM: Of course, it’s not all about roads. Take time to have fun, too. As is the main order of business for Joe‘s son JJ in Arbor Heights:

And this family in Admiral:

That’s one of several more photos just in from Christopher Boffoli, out and about for WSB – he noted this alternate mode of transportation:

Also from Christopher – the Farmers’ Market is indeed open for business at 44th/Alaska, until 2 pm:

And here’s his view of California SW in south Admiral:

10:46 AM: Seeing people walking along our street with sleds in tow – any safe sledding hills to recommend? Shari wonders on the WSB Facebook page. Meantime, Super Bowl memories live on in the snow at Alki – Erika sent this photo of the “Snow Lombardi Trophy”:

And an epic snowperson from T-Bone:

11:25 AM: The meltdown continues. Side streets are slushy, main roads bare and wet, clumps of wet snow keep falling off the trees/shrubs. Major event update – If you’re going to the WestSide Baby Tea (we are, and this year WSB is a co-sponsor), should be no problem getting there, says WS Baby’s Nancy Woodland:

WestSide Baby’s Annual Benefit Tea is still happening this afternoon. We are looking forward to seeing everyone! All of our staff and volunteers have made it here without incident as arterials are just fine and side streets are melting. A little snow should not keep us from helping local families in need and it will not likely be fun snow play time when the rain hits shortly as predicted.

Today 2-4:30 Hilton Seattle Airport and Conference Center 17620 International Blvd. [map]

We ARE opening up tickets for 30 extra seats for those who want to walk in! We’d love to have you and share a bit of WestSide Baby with you this afternoon. Just come and we’ll get you all signed up here. Tickets are $40.

We hope to see you this afternoon!!

Next up – a few other stories, a new gallery, then a p.m. post-snow update at some point.

Our Saturday-night coverage of road conditions, crashes, stuck buses is all here – and we’ll get back to road updates, etc., pre-dawn – but first, more shared snow photos (THANK YOU!):

Lynda shared the photo above from the Madison Middle School field, dubbing it “Frosty” … while Jana shared the next one from North Admiral:

Texted from Alki – another snow creation:

Ever look at a snowflake REALLY close up? Trileigh Tucker did:

Back to the snow creations – Mike shared the photo of Alki Elementary kindergartener Chloe‘s work:

Lauren, Tyler, and Alyssa sent this montage from SW Southern:

From the Junction area, Mike‘s “Sno-Hawk”:

From Admiral, Patricia‘s pastoral scene:

And from the early going – Paul shared the photo of “Jack-da-dog” in Belvidere:

As we noted in earlier coverage – the National Weather Service says this was the snowiest February 8th on record, 2.9″ at Sea-Tac. Sunday updates to come!

(INFOLINKS: Traffic cams here … SDOT plowed/salted map here … Metro on snow routes … Photo to share? editor@westseattleblog.com)

(First photo of tonight’s snow, from Trileigh Tucker, Lincoln Park area)
6:04 PM: Snowing here in Upper Fauntleroy – are you seeing it too? The National Weather Service’s alerts don’t stretch this far, so far – see the current ones here – its updated “forecast discussion” doesn’t think this will get past an inch. We’ll be updating.

6:34 PM: From the WSB Traffic page – where you’ll find many more cameras – that’s the camera pointing at the northbound Alaskan Way Viaduct. But we hope you don’t have to go out; slippery out there already.

6:54 PM: Sticking on the road up here – the view is from a moment ago, looking east on Thistle from California. (added) From the westward view on the high bridge – note the snowy Harbor Island ramp below, on the right side:

7:20 PM: Wondering if SDOT will be out, since it’s sticking on streets? Here’s Joe‘s view from Arbor Heights

On Twitter a few minutes ago, the department said plows are standing by:

Plow operators ready if needed. Road temps fairly warm prior to sunset but will monitor surface conditions closely.

— seattledot (@seattledot) February 9, 2014

7:35 PM: Apparently some city equipment IS out and about. Cheryl reports, also via Twitter: “SDOT ice/plow trucks going both directions on the Bridge just now.”

8:01 PM: Two hours now, still hasn’t stopped. An Alki view via Twitter:

59th and Alki Ave. pic.twitter.com/9Q5RUzMeHa

— Scott M Alki Wa. (@KayakScottNW) February 9, 2014

Road conditions are increasingly dominating the discussions on the scanner; dispatchers say SDOT is definitely out and hitting arterials around the city. (Few minutes later …) checked outside, about 1″ of snow so far.

8:16 PM: Seattle Fire dispatched to a crash reported at California/Frontenac, western bottom of Gatewood Hill. Reported on scanner to be car vs. tree. And just off Delridge, two crashes reported at Orchard/Dumar. If you really, REALLY have to go out, here’s the SDOT map of where they’ve plowed recently – added to the resource links at the top of this story.

8:44 PM: Metro now says its buses are all on snow routes; find yours here. More crashes – via scanner, SPD says it’s blocking 36th/Thistle after a crash.

9 PM: David sent the clip above from California near Andover. We just did the car-hood check again – about an inch and a half here. Couple miles south of David, here’s our latest pan:

Via Twitter, KFT reports a RapidRide C Line bus got stuck downtown.

9:18 PM: The photo above was texted (206-293-6302, any time!) from south Admiral, where they’re reporting more than two inches of snow. A few blocks east, Crystal just e-mailed (editor@westseattleblog.com, any time!) this photo from Hiawatha:

As MetPatrick tweeted a while ago, this does seem to have an end – check out the KING5.com radar.

9:31 PM: Heavy-rescue call on the SW Genesee hill between Avalon and Delridge, at 30th SW. (Added – photo by Christopher Boffoli:)

(A few minutes later …) also 14th/Holden, car vs. street sign. And police are still trying to keep people off Orchard/Dumar/Delridge intersection & its attendant hills. Overall advice: Avoid ANY hill, arterial or side street. **UPDATE ON FLIPPED CAR** No injuries, Christopher was told at the scene.

10:24 PM: From David:

Roxbury neat 26th Ave SW looking sticky. #westseattle @westseattleblog pic.twitter.com/zZHf16CpBK

— David S. Hogan (@SeattleActorDSH) February 9, 2014

Also now a blocking crash at 9th/Roxbury. (UPDATE: 3 people hurt, per scanner.) Screengrab from SDOT map shows Roxbury hasn’t been plowed between 9th and 35th.

As for the forecast, seems the NWS finally issued a Winter Weather Advisory at 8:44 pm for this area, almost 3 hours after it started snowing, and it’s in effect until 4 am.

10:53 PM: Bonair, between North Admiral and Alki, is “blocked at the top … Car in ditch, another car in road. Police tape is up at the top of the road,” David reports via e-mail. Back to that 30th/Genesee heavy rescue on the hill east of Avalon, here’s another view from WSB’s Christopher Boffoli:

Again, the driver wasn’t hurt. Heading back from the scene, Christopher noted RapidRide buses having difficulty at 35th/Avalon:

He says neither had chains. Meantime, snow looks to be about 3″ by now.

11:08 PM: And via scanner, we hear SPD asking Metro to just stop sending buses southbound on Avalon, saying four articulated buses are stuck in that area now. Meantime, near Westwood Village, Khang tweeted about a car that got stuck and just kept getting hit – until help was rounded up. Note to those who’ve sent fun snow photos – we’re building a separate gallery and will link it here when available.

12:01 AM: The snow is now very light, and that matches the radar view.

1:34 AM: Still hearing from people re: bus woes – RapidRide in particular. No new info from Metro.

2:07 AM: National Weather Service measured 2.9″ of snow at Sea-Tac – new record for February 8th (more than 2″ over the old record, 0.4″ in 1957).

(Photographed this morning by WSB’s Patrick Sand)
Right now, the only snow you’ll see around here is atop the mountains – the Olympics have been peeking out today, with more frosting than they’ve had for most of this (mostly mild) winter. But that MIGHT change next weekend. WSB commenter MetPatrick mentioned over the weekend via Twitter that lowland snow is a possibility then – and now it’s mentioned in the National Weather Service‘s newest forecast discussion, too. No watches/warnings yet – but there is no question it’s getting colder, snow or no snow, as noted in the latest version of the NWS’s Special Weather Statement. Stay tuned!

This winter hasn’t been all that wintry. But just you wait. The National Weather Service has us covered with a Special Weather Statement about temperatures dropping up to 15 degrees below normal – lows around 20 by Wednesday/Thursday – and maybe a bit of snow. See the alert here. Meantime, frequent weather commenter MetPatrick says via Twitter that the longer-range forecasts suggest a chance of real snow NEXT weekend. Still early, so don’t get too excited/concerned YET, but we’ll be tracking weather more closely in the days ahead.

(SEE OUR MORNING COVERAGE by going here)

(ADDED: Top photo from south of Alki Point today, courtesy Jeff Abel Photography)

2:34 PM: Another round of strong wind is moving through, in the company of sideways rain. Earlier, the precip even fell for a while as hail, and the proof is in the photo from Christa and Jenny Hickcox, who observed, “Glad we are watching the game from home today!” There are still some who aren’t able to – after this morning’s big outage affecting about 9,000 homes and businesses in several areas of West Seattle, Seattle City Light now says it still has about 250 homes/businesses without power in more than 30 areas around its system. We know some of them are in Seaview, near Juneau west of California SW. One outage area from earlier has lingering environmental concerns:

If you missed it in our morning coverage – not that you’re likely to be hitting the beach until this calms down, but Lowman Beach is posted as “closed” after a sewage overflow during this morning’s outage. King County Wastewater Treatment sent portable generators to the Murray Pump Station there as well as to Barton in Fauntleroy to get them both back in operation. Upgraded backup-power systems are in the works for both sites.

2:56 PM: At least one vehicle in West Seattle did not fare so well:

.@seattledot road crew making quick work of the downed tree on our street! cc @westseattleblog @wsdot pic.twitter.com/rLlIp3g93C

— lux2 (@lux2) January 11, 2014

4:03 PM: Turns out that’s the first downed tree shown in our morning coverage, on 40th SW in Morgan Junction. Here’s a closer look at the vintage car totaled by the tree:

Now that the tree’s been cut up and cleared, the road is open again. Meantime, the National Weather Service thinks the wind might last a little longer – it’s extended the wind advisory to 1 am.

5:28 PM: Congratulations to the Seahawks and fans! One note – we heard from several people worried about explosions they were hearing. As Laura pointed out on Facebook, fireworks have become a post-win tradition for many, and that’s what the explosions were. Meantime, pockets of powerlessness remain, and City Light says it’s still working on dozens of small outages:

@macjustice @westseattleblog You are not alone. Crews are working to restore power to about 300 homes and businesses in 40 separate outages.

— Seattle City Light (@SEACityLight) January 12, 2014

Sunday is likely to see lots of yard cleanup – weather permitting – with debris like what’s seen in the photo Luckie shared:

EARLY SUNDAY MORNING: Everybody in West Seattle SHOULD have power now, according to City Light’s map.

A big sunspot is acting up, and that’s led to solar-storm activity, with the possibility of aurora sightings if the sky clears at all. First word came from our Skies Over West Seattle correspondent Alice Enevoldsen, and we also received tips from Mike and Mat. The best explanation is at spaceweather.com; you can also watch the Space Weather Prediction Center. According to a chart shared by Alice, the peak activity should be between about 10 pm our time tonight at 4 am tomorrow. She says it’s “worth driving out from under the clouds for.” (Unfortunately we’re not seeing anyplace cloud-free, even on the longer-range weather radar. But there’s always hope.)

(Photo added 3:07 pm, with clouds moving back in)
Noticed that the Olympic Mountains are visible today from areas of West Seattle with a west/northwest view, but it’s something of an unusual view – their peaks are barely snowcapped. In case you wondered about it too, we’re sharing the link we found, from the Peninsula Daily News in Port Angeles – reporting that the Olympics’ snowpack is far below normal, compared to this time last year, when it was twice normal. The PDN report says the Cascades are doing better, but not by much.

(SCROLL DOWN for more photos (even video) added Friday evening)

FIRST INSTALLMENT, 11:41 AM: As forecast, it’s looking like the snow will be gone in a matter of hours. But people are having fun in the meantime, and here are some of the photos sent to us to share with you! Above, Wendy photographed a waterfront snowbuilder on Alki; next, “Good thing school was delayed,” wrote CS; “Time to build snowmen to leave on our neighbor’s stoop”:

Next, Jay, Lisa, and Emily Wallace report: “We got up super early this morning and made our first snowman of the year (complete with fairy wings, magic wands and a hockey stick). Had so much fun we wanted to share”:

For some, it was just the wonder of being out in the snow for the first time – thanks to Joe Szilagyi for this photo:

Not so wondrous for the next little guy, 16-month-old Zander Smith, whose parents Nicholas Smith and Shelley Yamamoto Smith wrote, “As you can see, not everyone is a fan of the snow. One touch and he wanted to go back inside”:

Some tweeted photos of snow. From Katy:

Snow fun! #seattlesnow @westseattleblog pic.twitter.com/Ssxkoo3PIY

— Katy (@bluejayway) December 20, 2013

The next photo also came from a tweet, via @Philosurfy:

Next, from Steve, who says, “Just wanted to send a pic of the 5’+ tall snowman the neighborhood kids got together to make before school this morning (near 44th and Charlestown). Talk about good use of a snow delay! Notice the celery nose – no carrots, so had to improvise. Too bad he’ll be a puddle before they get home from school”:

The school delay also meant “fun with neighbors by Lincoln Park,” as shown in Cathy‘s photo:

We found Dominic, Molly, and Lida while traveling through Westwood:

And then – it can be about the little things, like this scene found by Machel Spence in Lincoln Park:

Thanks again for the photos – both fun and functional (street conditions during the peak of the morning snow)! As for the remaining snow – watch for a mid-afternoon update with info such as bus routes, which are starting to return to normal.

ADDED FRIDAY EVENING: More scenes from our snowy morning! First, from Melanie:

Dav spotted a mysterious shape in the snow at Greg Davis Park:

Karen photographed snow coating the familiar shape of Dragonfly Pavilion along Longfellow Creek:

From Eugene – big fun for the little one:

Olivia built a snowman at Hamilton Viewpoint Park in North Admiral:

Here’s LuLu‘s bundled-up creation:

And Brad & Adi Ann shared video of their as-it-happened report:

(added) One more, from Leighellen Landskov, who says, “My boys had a blast jumping on our trampoline as it was covered in snow! It weighed the whole thing down, so they couldn’t get much air, but they sure had fun trying!”

Thanks again! This was the most snow seen here since mid-January 2012.

(KEY INFO, 11:42 AM: Seattle Public Schools 2 hours late; other school changes/closures too, all listed here … Metro starting to return to normal after a morning on snow routes … SDOT snow-response map here)

(Latest bridge and Viaduct views; more cams on the WSB Traffic page)
4:48 AM: The snow has arrived. Light coating on cars, some on the ground, but not the street, where we are. How about you? The Winter Weather Advisory for our area is now in effect until 10 am, and the forecast still says snow might continue until late morning before turning to rain. SDOT says its crews are out:

The Seattle Department of Transportation crews worked through the night treating hills and curves on snow routes with anti-icer. Bridges and overpasses have also been treated. By 3:30 a.m. light snowfall began at various locations around the city with no accumulations. At 4 a.m. the department dispatched 21 trucks equipped with plows and salt to patrol city streets in advance of the morning commute.

(SDOT cam at Fauntleroy/Alaska; more cameras here)
5:08 AM: It’s starting to stick on the road. (Remember the city maps plowed/de-iced routes here.) King County just announced the Vashon Water Taxi is canceled for today (which at the very least will affect buses from the Fauntleroy ferry area as commuters come in via WSF instead).

(Thanks to Richard for tweeting that photo from Delridge/Andover)
5:34 AM: Just in from Seattle Public Schools – “2 Hours Late, No Headstart, no AM or PM kindergarten/preschool, Buses on snow routes.” (And today’s 1-hour early release is still in the plan, too.) We are listing ALL area school changes/closures of note here, and you will find that link as well as other key links/toplines at the very top of this story.

6 AM: Metro has just announced ALL buses are on snow routes TFN. We also just got a text from a 21 rider saying her/his bus is stuck on the West Seattle Bridge eastbound on-ramp. Meantime, Highline Public Schools (White Center and points south) just announced it’s CLOSED; adding that to the school-info page. We are getting private-school reports now too (please e-mail us at editor@westseattleblog.com or call/text 206-293-6302).

6:29 AM: More school delays/closures – Hope Lutheran, Our Lady of Guadalupe, (added later) West Seattle Montessori are closed, Seattle Lutheran, Westside, Explorer West, Holy Rosary, South Seattle Community College all starting late – details here. Traffic note: Spinout crash on the southbound 1st Avenue South bridge; 21 bus reported to still be stuck on its onramp to the West Seattle Bridge (update: a few minutes later, “broke free,” reports Luke on board).

6:57 AM: Again, all Metro buses are now on snow routes, but some are still getting into trouble – from comments, a 21X is now reported stuck at 100th/44th in Arbor Heights.

7:15 AM: Thanks to Greg for that photo from 55th/Alki. We shared via Instagram a quick clip of conditions at Thistle/California as of 7 am – see it here. Meantime, if you have Friday trash pickup, Waste Management says there are some delays today but if they do NOT get to you today, they will “collect your regular amount of recycling, garbage and food and yard waste” tomorrow (Saturday, December 21st).

7:49 AM: Sue just sent word of a spinout crash on 4th Ave. S. under the bridge at S. Spokane. Roads in SODO are bare and wet, judging by this traffic cam further north on 4th. Also, just noticed when going back out that the snow is quick to turn to sloppy slush after it’s been walked on – so this does seem likely to be short-lived. So get out and build a snowperson if you can – here’s a 4 1/2-foot one just built by the “Bear boys” in Arbor Heights:

Back to traffic – a reminder and report from Cathy:

Please let people know to slow down approaching the “S” curves south of the 4800 block of W Marginal Way. Accident in the SB lanes (at least two vehicles that I could see) and I think SB traffic was being diverted to the two way turn lane. Officer(s) on site, but not many are slowing down approaching the accident despite the police flashers being on. There’s a lot of slush on the road here, and hoping you can get people to slow down before we start witnessing the yearly sight of cars flying out of the curves.

8:27 AM: From comments, multiple reports of a bus blocking the Olson/1st/etc. onramp to northbound 509. Meantime, SDOT continues working on roads; Pam reports from Gatewood that a snowplow’s been seen on SW Holden. We photographed one headed eastbound on Thistle past 42nd:

Also, in case you were wondering – roads are bare and wet in The Junction, as we go into one of the last few shopping days before Christmas:

Reminder that some schools are starting late – so the roads are going to get busier in the next hour and a half or so, in school zones. All the school closures/changes we have are listed here.

9:19 AM: And some photos on the ground from the Junction vicinity, from WSB contributor Christopher Boffoli. Crossing SW Oregon:

Junction Plaza Park on SW Alaska:

And California SW:

Thanks also to everyone who’s sent/sending fun photos – we’ll be building a gallery with those next, after transitioning out of this traffic/schools/etc. report, plus we have a couple non-snow stories to share.

11:16 AM NOTE: Some Metro routes are returning to normal. Meantime, the Vashon Water Taxi will be running again this afternoon.

The National Weather Service has changed the alert for possible Friday morning snow to a Winter Weather Advisory, in effect 1 am to 1 pm – read the alert here. One to three inches of snow is possible before it changes to rain in the afternoon. The alert changed after the Weather Service’s midday “forecast discussion” noted that while precipitation is undeniably on the way, “everything else related to snow vs. rain, snow accumulations, and start and end times remains in the Holy Moly zone of uncertainty.” Updates as we get them …

(January 18, 2012, photo shared by Suzanne, from SW Barton in Fauntleroy)
11:55 PM: It’s been almost two full years since the last somewhat-major snowfall in this area – mid-January 2012. Since the forecasters are pretty much unanimous in thinking we’ll see a few inches Friday morning, we’re presenting some links you might want to check in advance:

*SDOT winter-weather-response map – see what routes near you will be plowed (same map, during storm conditions, will show what’s been plowed/salted and when, among other things)

*Metro snow/ice route lookup – see where buses will run if they change to the snow/ice plan

*Outside the city? (White Center, part of South Park) The county road plan is here

*Flying out or picking someone up on Friday? Here’s where to check Sea-Tac Airport status; here are general airport winter-weather logistics

As always, if you will find real-time, 24/7 coverage here, and your help is always appreciated in terms of snow reports/photos from your neighborhood/workplace/travel routes/etc. – but there’s no downside to preparation, and that’s the spirit in which we share those links. Anything else you want to know in advance?

3:26 AM: Don’t get too excited/worried yet. In the 3 am forecast discussion, the National Weather Service is already backpedaling a bit.