Amid all the other major news … we’ve had so many rounds of hail/sleet it’s been hard to keep track. WSB contributing photojournalist Christopher Boffoli got that photo a few hours ago – and before we could publish it, the Tukwila and vote-count stories pushed it to the back burner (freezer?). Now we’ve just had another round – splattering against the front door – and we have a weather report from co-publisher Patrick at the Chief Sealth-Mercer Island varsity football game at Memorial Stadium downtown: The game’s in its second weather delay – flashes of lightning put it on hold early on, then play resumed, and now more lightning and thunder has cleared the field. It was a 5 pm scheduled start, but because of delays, they’ve only made it through one quarter (MI 14, CSHS 0) as of 6:25 pm. We checked the newest forecast – showers, wind, and occasional hail/sleet are forecast at least through tomorrow. P.S. To check in on the game – and the weather! – follow @wsblive on Twitter. ADDED 6:57 PM: The game did resume. Also, it’s not West Seattle and has no WS link but can’t resist sharing a photo tweeted from Enumclaw – where what looked like one whale of a funnel cloud was spotted:
So far we’ve gotten texts about a couple of “huge puddles” that are causing some commute trouble, including one at West Marginal Way/Highland Park Way, and also where Delridge meets The Bridge – given the overnight downpour, certainly there are others, so give yourself extra time when you head out.
Tonight’s ferocious weather offers another chance for everyone to button up all that readiness in case of winter stormtastrophes — and gives us an excuse to remind you of the city’s Landslide Information Meeting this Saturday morning in West Seattle – 10 am at South Seattle Community College (WSB sponsor) — full details here. If slides are even remotely a risk in your neighborhood – be there. ADDED 5:36 AM: One more way to get ready – today and tomorrow, 8 am-4 pm, free filled sandbags are available at Delridge Community Center, up to 25 for homeowners/business owners in floodprone areas – just drop by.
Hotwire Coffee (WSB sponsor) proprietor Lora Lewis just sent that photo of a tree blown down by her shop in The Junction – she says it “just missed the parked car.” It’s going to be windy until at least midnight, according to the newest forecast – but still breezy after that, for the next few days. 11:40 PM: Serious sleet, and thunder in the distance, just now. The sleet itself came down for a moment or two here with a roar. Click to listen.
(Photo by Christopher Boffoli)
With trick-or-treating in the Admiral business district tomorrow afternoon, and with Junction and Westwood Village merchants on Saturday (all on the Halloween page), not to mention neighborhood t-or-t Saturday night, we checked the forecast: You might need a little waterproofing. Breezy tomorrow, rainy tomorrow night, showery Saturday.
(Photo by Gatewood’s own New York Vinnie, added 11:14 pm)
There was a mention of a thunderstorm – but no hail. Crazy out there! Send pix if it gets to ground-covering status where you are …
Couldn’t quite tell if there’s a blocked drain under that big gutter pond we found along 35th SW near Cloverdale (map) this morning, but that sort of “ponding” tends to hint at one, which is why – even as today’s morning downpour makes way for what’s supposed to be a less-soggy afternoon – the city is issuing reminders about citizens’ role in lessening drain-related danger. First, Seattle Public Utilities has issued another reminder about the Adopt-a-Drain program – and three more chances to get free cleanup supplies – details here. Second, property owners and construction crews are reminded to check out “drain socks” – those temporary inserts placed in drains to catch sediment – forgotten “socks” have caused big problems in the past. Here’s the full city alert on those. Lots more government info on winter weather is available at takewinterbystorm.org.
Great photo from David Clarke, taken from Beach Drive this afternoon. So far, the forecast suggests tomorrow will be rain-free – lots to do if you don’t already have your plans locked in – check the West Seattle Weekend Lineup.
There were three times more city and county transportation officials than neighbors at Delridge Community Center tonight for the meeting about the new snow plan, but the many questions made up for the empty chairs.
(WSB photo from December 2008) THINK SNOW – LONG BEFORE THE TEMPS DROP: Two weeks ago, the city rolled out its all-new snow plan (here’s our report; here’s the plan). Tonight, your chance to hear from, and ask, the experts, in person, 7-9 pm, Delridge Community Center. If you’re still not sure what’ll be different if we have a Snowpocalypse rerun, this is the place to launch your flurry of questions.
MORGAN COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION: Huge agenda for MoCA‘s quarterly meeting, 7 tonight at The Kenney, including transportation, park, preparedness and utility issues.
FAIRMOUNT COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION: This group doesn’t meet often but when it does, there’s lots to talk about, as previewed here. Development (with Harbor Properties‘ update on Link) and crime are two major components of tonight’s agenda, 6:30 pm, The Mount.
(added 8:52 am)DELRIDGE NEIGHBORHOODS DISTRICT COUNCIL: Thanks to Pete Spalding for one additional reminder – the Delridge Neighborhoods District Council also meets tonight, 7 pm at Youngstown Arts Center. Two city department heads will be there: Finance director Dwight Dively with a presentation on the mayor’s budget proposal; Neighborhoods director Stella Chao with a briefing on proposed changes to the Neighborhood Matching Fund.
(2008 photo from Nancy in North Delridge, showing a drain in need of clearing)
With our sunbreak/downpour/breeze/repeat cycle of weather today, it’s the perfect public-service announcement of sorts: The city just sent out a reminder about keeping storm drains clear, and a project in which you can participate to make sure you have what you need to do it:
Fall has arrived and the rainy season is upon us … and Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) needs your help preventing flooding by keeping neighborhood street drains clear of debris.
Fall Clean is a part of SPU’s popular Adopt-A-Drain program, in which volunteers help keep storm drains free of debris. During the coming months, a combination of changing weather and falling leaves creates a perfect opportunity for flooding. Unfortunately, the utilities’ full-time drainage crews cannot keep up with all of the thousands of storm drains that need extra maintenance this time of year.
We’ll lend you free cleanup supplies – rakes, bags, gloves, shovels, brooms and dustpans. Pick them up at the following times and locations:
* October 24 and 31 from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at Seattle Public Utilities’ warehouse at 3633 East Marginal Way South.
* October 28 and 29 from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Seattle Municipal Tower between Columbia Street and Cherry Street on 6th Avenue in downtown Seattle.
Please call or e-mail us in advance at (206) 233-7187 or adoptadrain@seattle.gov to reserve your supplies.
If the forecast is right, what we’re seeing outside right now – the wind kicking up some gusts, mixed with steady rain, nothing dramatic as you can see in our clip but still a taste of serious fall bluster – is about as bad as it’s going to get. Just in case you were wondering. (At least we’re not getting THIS.)
Though you might have seen some TV warnings of overnight wind, the National Weather Service says that for the city, the worst of it isn’t expected till Wednesday. Maybe up to 25 mph tonight and tomorrow, but gusts up to 40 mph are in the Wednesday outlook.
In that bag held by SDOT manager Charles Bookman – little rocks of salt, scattered a few inches apart. That was a prop he used while briefing us (during a series of media interviews) about the new snow plan that SDOT is unveiling – completely overhauled, the department says, from last year. Instead of the “sand and plow” strategy of the past, Bookman explains, it’s all about getting to “bare pavement” – and they’ve mapped out which streets are to be completely bare within 8 hours of a lull in the storm, plus which ones will have one “bare” lane each way. The “Snow and Ice Readiness and Response Plan” we were given is not online yet, nor are the maps (4:07 update – the map is now online), so bear with us as we give you the quick highlights of the hourlong personal briefing we just got (including a snowplow ride!) downtown – as well as information on public meetings where you can get the briefing firsthand (and ask questions) – read on:Read More
Thanks to Gary J and Desiree, who both sent news/photos of that big tree limb down at Alki, on this windy afternoon (that’s Gary’s pic, above). Forecast says we could see wind up to 25 mph at times tonight. ADDED 5:58 PM: One other weather note – Jenny says her family lost a kite, and her 7-year-old thought WSB’ers might be able to help find it:
What a great day to fly a kite, and lose one! My husband and sons were flying kites up on Genesee Hill near 55th and Bradford, and one got loose. It’s rainbow with a fluorescent orange tail. It was last seen headed south around Dakota and 55th. [map] … If they find it, please ask them to call Jenny at 935-7389.
That video is from a moment of sticking the Flip out the window while at the Fauntleroy/Alaska stoplight as this evening’s downpour began. Meteorologist-to-the-stars Cliff Mass talks about its cause in his latest online update. Tomorrow, by the way, looks quieter. Meantime, Bruce in Westwood sent this photo from the sunbreak just before things got wild – while we caught some rays here in southern West Seattle, dark clouds gathered ominously in the north:
Thanks to David Hutchinson for that photo emphasizing the amazing fiery colors of tonight’s sunset, just moments before fall officially arrived at 7:06 pm our time. Here’s a photo from Marty, taken from his Alki-area deck:
(Added at 9 pm – a sunset Twitpic from @niktrain.) And Kevin McClintic was among the 30-plus people who turned up at Solstice Park (east of Lincoln Park) for an astronomy-appreciation gathering in honor of the occasion – at left in the purple, it’s Alice Enevoldsen, who issued the invitation and brought her telescopes:
When we left the park a while ago, Alice had taken a group of stargazers over to have a look at Jupiter, after everyone admired the crescent moon.
Many of today’s events are all or partly indoors, but even if you were looking forward to what’s supposed to be happening outdoors – the forecast says the rain WILL lift. Not predicting sunbreaks, but “rain” is supposed to make way for “cloudy with chance of showers.” We have NOT received word of any rainouts; we’ll add word of anything we do hear, but in the meantime, the show must go on. Two of this afternoon’s highlights: The Alki Statue of Liberty Time Capsule ceremony (with West Seattle High Schoolalum astronaut Greg Johnson starting a round of local appearances) at 2 pm, which is also the start time for theDelridge Neighborhood Development Association‘s LINKS barbecue at Delridge Community Center (2-6). A highlight tonight: Easy Street Records in The Junction celebrates Pearl Jam‘s new “Backspacer” with a 9 pm party preceding the midnight sale — bring a donation for West Seattle Food Bank – giveaways, raffles, music (they’ll be playing cuts from “Backspacer” starting at 11), and if Easy Street’s full when you get there, the party’s officially spilling over into West 5. More here. For today’s full list of events, click here.
Just a couple pretty pictures as we look ahead to what could be another record-high-temperature day … yesterday set a record at Sea-Tac by hitting 87, but today’s record is 88, and the forecast doesn’t look THAT hot. Anyway, the top photo is from Max, looking toward downtown during Friday night’s moonrise; below, an Alki sunset scene that Greg Wright photographed earlier in the week, focusing on the water instead of the sky:
(Alki Beach fire this chilly holiday weekend, photographed by Greg Wright)
The rainiest/windiest/coldest of this storm episode is past, according to the National Weather Service, which dangles the possibility of sunny, 70s-ish weather NEXT weekend in its newest forecast. There was a bit of trouble in the weekend turbulence, though – we heard from Mark in the 6700 block of Beach Drive (map); his 23-foot boat broke free from its buoy – and neighbors reported it as it blew past their homes – it finally stopped about a mile north, where they planned to retrieve it at high tide.
WSB contributing photojournalist Matt Durham (from mattdurhamphotography.com) spotted Sofia Mabee and 4-year-old daughter Savannah refusing to let the rain keep them inside – which is what PDieter advises in a discussion under way now in the WSB Forums, regarding the joys of living here despite the sometimes-turbulent weather. Speaking of which – The National Weather Service‘s “special weather statement” (see it here) remains in effect, with “significant precipitation” and unseasonably chilly weather expected to continue tonight.
We have NOT received word of any rainouts; we’ll add word of anything we do hear, but in the meantime, the show must go on. Two of this afternoon’s highlights: The 
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