West Seattle, Washington
24 Monday
Thanks to April Long for sharing her photo of a rainbow over the West Seattle Water Taxi a little while ago. That led us to check the forecast, which brings good news – the weekend is looking better: “Partly sunny” is now the forecast for both days, starting with Saturday, which is the day of the Westwood Village Street Fair, 10 am-7 pm, including live music, kids’ activities, and more (see you there!), as well as graduation day for both local public high schools. Here’s the latest forecast.
Just heard thunder here at WSB HQ in Upper Fauntleroy; the National Weather Service called for a chance of thunderstorms in this “short-term forecast” (possibly even “small hail”).
For those hoping to glimpse a never-again-in-this-lifetime sight, the sunbreak Tuesday afternoon was almost a miracle. As Jamie Kinney, who shared the photo above, put it, “With all of the clouds, I thought it was unlikely that I could capture a photo of Venus passing between Earth and the Sun … Fortunately, there was a sun break for about 30 seconds and I was able to capture the photos which I have published in my web gallery.”
The official West Seattle viewing event, meantime, was of course at Solstice Park, with NASA Solar System Ambassador Alice Enevoldsen.
(Photo by Jason Ayres Gift Enevoldsen)
She says, “We got three sun breaks.The first two were very short. The last was almost 10 minutes long, and quite rewarding. Almost 30 people came, and all but about 5 managed to be there during one of the sun breaks.” Above, part of the crowd – see more on her website, Alice’s Astro Info. The next “Venus transit” is not due until 2117.
LOW-LOW TIDES: Thanks to Lura for the tip: Another round of extra-low low tides has arrived. Each of the next four days will bring a low tide of more than -3 feet, which means many tidepools and other things to explore (carefully!). Here’s our favorite tide calendar with the specific times – or, you can use the WSB Events Calendar, where each of those days has an entry not only featuring the low-tide times, but also the hours that you’ll find Seattle Aquarium volunteer beach naturalists at 2 sites in West Seattle. Happy exploring!
IN THE SKY: Also in the next few days, you have the chance to see two phenomena, both, of course weather permitting. Early Monday, there’s a partial eclipse of the moon – and we do mean EARLY, as in 4 am our time. NASA explains it here. Then on Tuesday, it’s the Transit of Venus – with NASA Solar System Ambassador Alice Enevoldsen as your guide at West Seattle’s Solstice Park. This is NOT something you can just go outside and check out. See Alice’s website for lots of information, including an event on Tuesday.
(Photo by DC)
A sunset to remember, after that crazy out-of-the-blue (and gray) evening downpour … more people have e-mailed to share sunset photos than we’ve seen in a while – thank you! This one had it all – dramatic clouds, splashes of color … and Alki was the place to see it:
(Photo by Cheryl Nellis of Cnellis Photography)
Here’s another view with the Bremerton ferry passing Alki …
(Photo by Valerie)
And even without the color, the Olympic Mountains made for a beautiful show …
(Photo by Debra Salazar Herbst)
But then – some of them were suddenly gone in the clouds:
(Photo by Russ Walker)
Thank you to everyone who shared sunset views. Photos welcome, from weather to wildlife to breaking news to events to … any time: editor@westseattleblog.com (or via the WSB Facebook page).
That’s Venus setting last night, behind “some rain that didn’t reach the ground,” as John Hinkey described it. The forecast looks good for at least today and tomorrow – so you might see something just as, if not more, beautiful tonight.
Sunday is looking bigger all the time. It starts with the West Seattle 5K run-walk (Alki, 9 am; register 1-4 pm tomorrow at West Seattle High School or 8 am Sunday at the race site if you’re not signed up already) – continues with Seattle Summer Streets (aka “car-free day”) along the heart of Alki from 11 am-5 pm (growing list of activities!) – and then, how about a partial solar eclipse peaking in early evening? (The weather’s not too promising now but you know how quickly things can change.) Our partners at the Seattle Times have some NW-geared info; more details, including links to important info about safe eclipse-viewing, are on Space.com. (And of course West Seattleite-written AlicesAstroInfo.com has lots of info too.)
(Thanks to Brian Coy for the photo! Added 10:49 pm)
9:06 PM: The sky’s clear enough to see the “supermoon” on the rise in the east – go take a look! It’ll have an orange cast until it gets a bit higher in the sky.
(Thanks to Danny Vinci for this photo shared via the WSB Facebook page)
9:21 PM: It’s losing the orange cast as it continues to rise – still a beautiful bright full moon, though. And as previously noted, the tides are getting interesting too. Even today, it was a notable minus tide – Doug B shared this photo via Flickr:
Tomorrow’s low tide will be even lower (minus three feet just after 11:30 am) – and Seattle Aquarium volunteer beach naturalists will make their debut south of Alki Point and at Lincoln Park, too – locations and schedule here.
A few bonus reasons to go outside the next several days/nights … very low and very high tides, plus the “supermoon”! The latter arrives at moonrise Saturday evening – Space.com has details. And along with this month’s full moon come some very high and very low tides. Today’s low tide at midmorning – when we took the cameraphone photo above, during a brief Alki visit – was a modestly low minus tide, but as our favorite monthly tide table shows, the lows get lower over the next few days, bottoming out at -3.4 just after noon on Monday (one of the lowest daytime low tides of the year). At the same time, the high tides are higher than usual, topping out at 12 feet (or slightly past that) Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday evenings.
SIDE NOTE: Any time you are interested in sunrise/set, moonrise/set, and tide information, that’s part of what we provide (automated so you can trust it’s always updated) on the WSB Weather page – follow that link OR click the “Weather” tab below the header on any WSB page.
No one can resist the downtown-skyline view from West Seattle – not even the noble and ever-busy crow. Thanks to Darren Pilon for sharing the photo. P.S. While rain is on its way back, the forecast includes some weekend sun.
Thanks to Debbie Pierce for sharing the photo, as stormy weather moved through – and by – this afternoon. (She was looking toward Bainbridge from Alki Beach.) The forecast says there’s still a chance of thundershowers, but overall, it’s a lot nicer now than it was earlier, so come on back home and get out to tonight’s two big events, Food for Art and the West Seattle Art Walk.
ADDED 8 PM: Thanks to Debra Salazar Herbst for this view of the sunset!
Sage shared that photo, saying: “Turns out 30th & Thistle is somewhere over the rainbow!” That rainbow, you probably know, followed an intense hail* shower about an hour ago. According to the National Weather Service’s latest “forecast discussion,” tomorrow will bring more scattered showers mixed with sunbreaks. Possibly related to the downpour, there’ve been at least two crashes in the past hour, including one at California/Charlestown that we’re told is still affecting traffic in the area. Matthew sent this photo from that scene:
Meantime, back to the rainbow – Mike Gerber shared this view of a double rainbow seen from Puget Ridge, on his property with the old orchard house mentioned here previously:
And from High Point, Wendy Hughes-Jelen shares this view:
If you missed the hail … here’s a view on the backyard bricks at WSB HQ in Upper Fauntleroy:
ADDED 9:25 PM: A few more photos – first, Don Brubeck captured the squall as it headed downtown:
And John Hinkey, northeast of The Junction, got an Alaska Airlines jet, rainbow-bound:
Probably another photo or two to add later .. but in the meantime, thanks again, everybody!
From Upper Alki, JayDee caught tonight’s sunset – almost a surprise, since it followed an increasingly cloudy afternoon that had put a stop to a surprisingly sunny morning. Speaking of surprises, there’s a tiny chance we might get a bit more wintry weather, as the experts are watching both moisture and cold air (see the National Weather Service forecast discussion, as well as WSB’er reader/commenter/meteorologist Patrick Kelly with a heads-up via the WSB Facebook page. We’ll just have to see what happens in the hours ahead …
6:10 AM: Looks like some other areas around Western Washington got snow. Nothing here that we’ve seen or heard.
(March 2011 WSB photo)
It happens four times a year and it wouldn’t be the same without NASA Solar System Ambassador Alice Enevoldsen … an equinox/solstice sunset watch. The spring equinox is late tomorrow night, so Alice is inviting everyone to watch tomorrow’s sunset at Solstice Park (uphill from the tennis courts at Fauntleroy/Webster; here’s a map):
It’s time for the 12th seasonal sunset watch (We’re at 3 years of these, folks)!!
When: March 19, 2011 at 7:05 pm (so come at 6:45 pm)
Actual sunset is supposed to be at 7:22, but at the summer solstice we noticed that the Sun set about 10 minutes earlier than the USNO says it does, so I’ve moved the time of our sunset watch up so we don’t miss it. I added another 5 minutes for the tall trees of Lincoln Park blocking our view. In Autumn the timing seemed to line up correctly – what will it do this time?
Where: Solstice Park – all the way up the hill from the tennis courts (or, if you’re not in Seattle, wherever you have a view of the western horizon!)
Who: Everyone welcome, as usual.
Come watch the spring equinox sunset at Solstice Park in West Seattle on Monday the 19th. We’ll see if the sunset lines up with the placed marker (it did for summer, but we weren’t sure in autumn or winter). I’ll be there even if it is cloudy because sometimes the Sun peeks through just as it begins to set, but if it is driving rain or sleet I’m staying home with some hot tea!
If you’re interested – here’s the timing of various celestial events from Seattle, courtesy of the U.S. Naval Observatory Astronomical Applications Department:
One more photo from this morning’s snow – Mike Gerber shares what he describes as “a photo of snow falling on the last remains of the oldest fruit orchard in Seattle. The building in the foreground is the original farmhouse, built in the 1880s, and stands as a reminder of the thousands of Eastern European immigrants that tended these vast orchards that once stretched from Pigeon Point all the way past Burien.
The site is on Puget Ridge, as described on a website Mike has for a house he’s selling nearby.
Alki-residing author/chef Kim O’Donnel shared that photo around 2 pm, and it drew oohs and aahs around the region; we put it on the WSB Facebook page, and our friends at KING 5 circulated it online too. Is it the work of pre-St. Patrick’s Day leprechauns? Actually, the forecast suggests that instead of a pot of gold, tomorrow morning we might see a bit of snow (yes, again).
ADDED 10:11 PM: Thanks to Bob A in Admiral for sharing the vivid photo of tonight’s sunset!
(Scroll down for updates on the outage and other weather woes)
8:09 AM: Looks like another round of wild weather moving through. And while we’re not sure yet if it’s weather-related, Martha in Arbor Heights reports a power outage. She’s at the end of 35th near Seola Park and says it went out about an hour ago. The outage is not on the City Light map and we haven’t reached them for confirmation yet, but she says that when she called it in, they told her 106 homes were affected. Meantime, the National Weather Service has a “short-term” forecast alert for heavy rain, up to half an inch an hour, this morning.
8:35 AM UPDATE: Not far from Martha’s location at the end-of-35th bend, a tree on SW Seola Lane (map) is apparently to blame for the outage, according to Tbone‘s note in comments and a 6 am “wires down” listing on the 911 log.
9:41 AM UPDATE: Added a photo of the tree trouble at Seola Lane/Seola Beach Drive. City Light’s Scott Thomsen, meantime, confirmed the outage and said it should be fixed by early afternoon. He also says the SCL outage map is fixed now.
10:05 AM UPDATE: Massive downpour for the past few minutes, in line with the Weather Service’s warning (above), though a little past their timeframe.
10:55 AM UPDATE: Sage K sends word that the Delridge onramp to the West Seattle Bridge is flooded again and should be avoided. We’re going to check that out.
11:56 AM UPDATE: Seattle Public Utilities crew was on scene at the Delridge ramp puddle, clearing the drain, when we arrived. (Besides the crew members in our photo, they had a vacuum truck there, too.) Meantime, we have an update from City Light on the Seola outage:
Crew is on site. They’ve isolated the damage to restore most customers. 23 are still out. Two spans of wire are down. Estimate for restoration of service for the remaining customers is about 2:30 pm.
We lost count at three blasts of snow/hail today – at least one, followed by sunshine. Thanks to everyone who shared photos; we’re finally getting a chance to check them out, and this is the first one we wanted to share – Michaela took photos during the West Seattle High School soccer game, which included sun as well as snow! (According to the scoreboard published by our partners at the Seattle Times, Ingraham beat WSHS 11-0.)
ADDED: JayDee‘s view of the “storm train,” seen from Upper Alki:
From The Junction this afternoon, the snow shower that hit just before 4 pm:
And not far away, WSB contributor Katie Meyer caught the sights and sounds of the afternoon’s hail:
Still a chance of snow showers till late Wednesday morning, say the forecasters.
(The requisite “proof it snowed” video, shot at 9:30 am)
ORIGINAL 6:33 AM REPORT: Spring officially arrives next Monday night. Winter isn’t giving up without a fight. A little more snow dusted the area overnight; we’ve had reports via Facebook and Twitter, from Admiral to Arbor Heights, and beyond. Let us know if there’s any actually on the ground where you are; it apparently snowed a little more heavily in points south and east. A “special weather statement” is in effect and warning that some snow and/or hail is still possible during what the National Weather Service calls “a showery, cool day” ahead.
9:04 AM UPDATE: Getting a notable snow shower here in Upper Fauntleroy at the moment.
6:14 AM UPDATE: If you look at the regional map on the National Weather Service‘s Seattle home page, you’ll notice various types of weather alerts are in effect almost everywhere – but NOT here in the city. Nonetheless, the newest forecast says it’ll be very windy, to say the least (and you might already have heard evidence of that in the very early morning hours). As always, we’ll keep watch through the day, with updates if things go beyond general blusteriness. (And if you have anything to report – 206-293-6302, any time, text or voice; thank you!)
8:37 AM UPDATE: As commenter/meteorologist Patrick notes, a wind advisory is now up for our area. See it here.
9:08 PM UPDATE: The wind advisory expired this afternoon without anything serious happening. But the weather is still unsettled, and some snow might be mixed in with overnight/morning showers. Here’s the newest forecast.
11:21 AM: We’ve been watching the National Weather Service outlooks since the local NWS first issued a “special weather statement” on Friday; the newest version technically includes our area, but if you read the fine print, the strong winds discussed for tomorrow are mostly expected out on the ocean coast. However, this morning’s regional “forecast discussion” says that as the approaching “cold front” gets closer – “This looks like the sort of system that will actually give something more like … a genuinely blustery day for all of Western Washington Monday.” If that holds through the next few forecast updates (three to four times daily), they’ll issue a wind advisory, so be on the lookout.
5:38 PM UPDATE: The “special weather statement” has been dropped because, for now, NWS says that our area doesn’t look to be in for much more than typical March bluster. So far.
Thanks to Cheryl Nellis for sharing her photo of the full moon rising tonight. If you’ve been keeping an eye on the sky because of the predictions of aurora visibility – Spaceweather.com explains tonight why that didn’t happen last night, but might still be in the cards (that link includes an amazing photo from Iceland).
Thanks to Emily Austin for the photo of tonight’s super sunset – apparently with “light pillar.” Gives us a reason to mention something you might want to look for tonight and tomorrow, if the sky is clear enough – local expert Alice Enevoldsen of Alice’s Astro Info mentioned it in e-mail, citing Spaceweather.com: Activity from a solar flare is expected to “reach our planet” just before 10:30 tonight, and that could mean auroras (aka Northern Lights) “at all latitudes,” Alice notes. We’ll be watching!
| 1 COMMENT