(This post covered morning/afternoon/early evening; go here for the rest of the night – SATURDAY CLOSURES/CHANGES: Libraries closed at 4, Community centers/pools closed at 4 – Both YMCAs closing at 5 – Kenyon Hall show postponed to 1/3 – SUNDAY CLOSURES/CHANGES: Farmers’ Market canceled – No church at Westside Unitarian – Admiral Sings Christmas postponed to 12/28 – No mule rides in The Junction BUT as of right now Santa pix ARE still on – POWER OUTAGE SAFETY INFO AND READER TIPS HERE)

(latest image from West Seattle Bridge – refresh to update it)
ORIGINALLY POSTED AT 10:31 AM (post itself is retimestamped so it’s at the top of the home page): Had a request to start another post with road info etc. — so here we go. More to come; we’re back on live-update watch. Here’s some info from Seattle Parks:

Seattle Parks and Recreation’s facilities, including community centers, pools, environmental learning centers, Amy Yee Tennis Center and Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center are open until 4 p.m. today, but all regular programming has been canceled.

Public golf courses, including Jackson Park, Interbay, West Seattle and Jefferson Park are closed for golf, but are open for sledding.

Parks cautions visitors to Green Lake Park that while there is ice on the lake, it will not bear weight, and is not safe to walk on.

For more information about the center near you, please call that facility directly.

From Josh at the West Seattle Family YMCA (Triangle and Fauntleroy branches; WSB sponsor): “Both facilites are open, but Youth Basketball games are cancelled this weekend.”

11:11 AM UPDATE: The National Weather Service updated the forecast last hour. Mostly the same – snow not expected before sunset, so far, so you should have the whole day to get shopping and preparations (our “power outage advice/precautions” thread continues here) done. Here’s the NWS forecast discussion (note it pegs Sea-Tac as the northernmost point for the “heaviest snow” – since we’re not too far north of there, brace yourself).

(latest image from Fauntleroy/Alaska looking NE – refresh to update)

11:37 AM UPDATE: Minoru posts a comment from “a looooooong line” at the grocery store, and notes some items are out. If you see a delivery truck at any local supermarket, please advise!

12:53 PM UPDATE: Speaking of long lines – Arlene Carter from The Mount just called (206-293-6302, if you can’t get to e-mail, call us with tips or questions any time, it’s a mobile so we answer 24/7) — she says the line TO GET TO A CASHIER in Westwood Village Target STRETCHES ALL THE WAY DOWN THE STORE TO ELECTRONICS — Arlene says, “I have never seen anything like it in my life.” Via Twitter, Rhonda Porter (WSB sponsor) reports “QFC is a zoo.”

1 PM UPDATE: City of Seattle has posted a new news release (dated 4 pm today! may be why we haven’t received word of it by e-mail yet). Mostly recaps pre-possible-outage reminders and says in part:

“We are concerned about the possibility of some high winds hitting our service area late this afternoon,” (City Light) Superintendent Jorge Carrasco said. “We are holding some crews to be ready for what may hit us later today. Our fleet is chained up and fully equipped in order to respond to possible outages. We are prepared for the storm that will pass through the area later today. Snow is generally not a problem for power delivery, however, severe cold, ice and wind can become a problem for us.”

1:12 PM UPDATE: Hometown Holidays status for SUNDAY AFTERNOON from Susan Melrose at the West Seattle Junction Association:

For starters, the mule trolley rides are off! The commute from Port Angeles and they’re expecting a blizzard. However, the Pathfinder volunteers (wreath selling by KeyBank) couldn’t be more enthusiastic! And (musician) Patrick is eager to spin disks as long as his equipment doesn’t get damaged. We’re considering creating more of a shelter/den where people can come in from the cold and wind for coffee and a quick snuggle with the electric blanket or warm their feet by the heater.

And I just spoke with Mrs. Claus. Santa can’t wait to meet all the children who might walk, sled or ski to the Junction for a last minute visit.

As of now, our plans are to continue to host a cheery Holiday Headquarters in the midst of a snow storm, but if conditions turn to severe, we might back out early or altogether.

That’s tomorrow, noon-4 pm in The Junction (WSB sponsor). Updates as we get them (and thanks for sharing updates on other events – including church services for tomorrow – if any are canceled, let us know – editor@westseattleblog.com).

1:41 PM UPDATE: In comments, it’s pointed out that the snow has started in the South Sound. Sure LOOKS impending-snow-like out the window. Even more ominously, Scott C sent this link to KOMO radar animation (wow!) with the subject line “It’s coming.” Also, a tip from Meredith via Facebook: “If you are planning on stocking up lines at Admiral Safeway are crazy… hint, if you only have a few items, enjoy a latte and buy your few items at the Starbucks register.”

1:54 PM UPDATE: Speaking of Admiral, thanks to Cathy M. Woo for this road report:

From Admiral, up 59th to Genesee Hill is still a sheet of ice. Drivers are coming down 59th SW waaaayyy too fast and sliding into the Admiral Way intersection. Some doing 360’s at the bottom. See attached photo. Closest car has crashed into a fence. Fortunately that’s all it was. And you can see across Admiral where someone missed the right hand turn onto 59th and hit the car parked there.

Also – via Twitter, mcneight reports Les Schwab on 4th (South Seattle) “just got a load of tire chains in from Portland.”

2:26 PM UPDATE: SNOW HAS STARTED TO FALL AT WSB HQ IN UPPER FAUNTLEROY …

2:37 PM UPDATE: Latest from Skylark Club and Cafe (WSB sponsor):

“Skylark is open until 7 pm tonight. Bands will be rescheduled. We have a few plans in place for Brunch tomorrow, I’ll update our myspace.com/skylarkcafe status with the latest news. Thanks to everyone who has been valiantly braving the threat of icy roads to get here for the last two days…our wonderful and attractive staff and our fabulous and discerning customers. You rock West Seattle.”

Getting more reports from all over West Seattle (and beyond) of Return of the Flakes ’08. Hope it stays light so folks can finish shopping etc. before nightfall. Should have a new forecast in an hour or so to give us some idea of when wind will be added to this – although it’s still expected to be worse in Cascades foothills, Eastside, wind-wise, than here in the central metro area, though 30 mph would be bad enough.

3:16 PM UPDATE: Field report from walk around the block. Snowing harder now. Breezy. Every single little grain is sticking, since it’s so cold. Junction TrueValue out of Ice Melt, says Alice in comments. Hope you don’t have to drive, but if you do, WSDOT tweets this advice: “If stranded tonight, move vehicle out of travel lane and use emergency flashers. Stay in car and if running, keep the tailpipe area clear.” California north from Thistle looked like this a few minutes ago, but there’s no doubt the road surface won’t be visible for long, now that it’s really coming down:

Scott C sends the crowd shot from inside Thriftway at Morgan Junction:

And he notes the slippery dangers of snow getting tracked into Rite-Aid (the one on California):

And just north of Thriftway, looking east to Fauntleroy/Morgan:

Cliff Mass notes on his site that the wind’s not here yet because this hasn’t switched over to easterly yet – that’s running later than expected, though the snow ran a bit early.

Site note: We are now re-timestamping this entry to 11:22 am so that it appears at the top of the home page. The original time, 10:31 am, is now noted at the start of this post’s text.

3:40 PM UPDATE: RealLowVibe tweeted moments ago: “plenty of candles, batteries remain at Admiral Junction Bartell’s, and a delivery guy was bringing in milk and eggs at Met Market.” You can watch citywide reports of the snow via Twitter on the Web here (if you use Twitter, send a storm-related note with the “hashtag” #seatst – for Seattle TwitterStormTeam – and the search will pick it up). Also, a road report from Scott C (who sent various photos above): “Morgan Street going east is open, had NO problems getting up the hill. Morgan Street going west has a road closed sign at 35th in front of U-Haul.”

3:57 PM UPDATE: National Weather Service midafternoon briefing called this storm “life-threatening” in some regions of Western Washington — briefing slides are posted here (highlights – temps warming tomorrow, maybe even into low 40s, but new lowland snow threat tomorrow night!).

4:06 PM UPDATE: Just got a call from Alice – library branches all closed at 4. Community centers, as we reported earlier, all closed early too. Any other reports of closures and changes welcome – editor@westseattleblog.com or 206-293-6302. ALSO – Both YMCA’s closing at 5 tonight – AND CLOSED TOMORROW. Says Josh from the Y, “Stay home and stay warm.” On the STILL HAPPENING side, we have a note that the West Seattle High School girls’ basketball game vs. Vashon at 5 pm IS STILL HAPPENING – Kim suggests “it would be a nice late-afternoon activity for those within walking distance.”

4:23 PM UPDATE: Kari at Westside Unitarian says church is canceled for tomorrow (including the solstice play) but “folks who live close by will be there with hot coffee and good conversation for anyone who wants to show up.” Website’s at www.wsuu.org. Also, from comments: Thriftway closing early, at 7 pm. We will start a list of closures/changes at the very TOP of this post so you can access them any time. No wind trouble yet BUT a reminder that King County Public Health has sent out an important info list, including how to avoid carbon-monoxide poisoning (which killed people in the 2006 power outage), with infosheets in multiple languages – here’s the link again — adding to top of post too.

4:41 PM UPDATE: Snow VERY light right now – just stepped outside for a photo of the road before it’s completely dark – this is Thistle looking east from California, you can assume any previously cleared road is now frosted from the snow that started 2 hours ago:

4:53 PM UPDATE: Just in from the city, which says this briefing will be shown live on Cable Channel 21 (we’ll watch to take notes):

As a winter storm moves in, the City of Seattle has activated its Emergency Operations Center and will provide regular updates on its storm response beginning at 5:00 p.m. today.

At 5:00, Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels will be joined by representatives from the Seattle Department of Transportation and Seattle City Light with the latest information on road conditions and power systems.

A report from WSB’er Olivia downtown: “Snow falling fast downtown. The Seattle symphony 8pm performance of The Messiah still is on, but they will let you exchange tickets for other performances – very nice and understanding. Photo from 3rd and spring.”

TO SEE THE REST OF THIS AS-IT-HAPPENED COVERAGE, WITH PHOTOS ETC., CLICK AHEAD:Read More

(***scroll down/refresh for frequent updates, in the main text below and in “comments”*** – INFO LINKS: WSB TRAFFIC PAGE WITH CAMERAS – METRO ROUTE STATUS LIST – SEA-TAC FLIGHT STATUS – COUNTY CLOSURES INCLUDING COURTS – OTHER NOTES: “PLAID TIDINGS” STILL ON – SATURDAY MAGIC SHOW AT ADMIRAL STILL ON – “ADMIRAL SINGS CHRISTMAS” FOR SUNDAY, POSTPONED TO 12/28 – WEST SEATTLE FARMERS MARKET FOR THIS SUNDAY HAS BEEN CANCELED – TODAY’S TRASH SERVICE CANCELED (DETAILS HERE ON WHAT’S NEXT – TOM RASMUSSEN’S VIADUCT CHAT STILL ON FOR 8:30-10:30 SAT MORNING AT JUNCTION UPTOWN – SAT. CHRISTMAS KEYBOARDS AT KENYON HALL POSTPONED TO 1/3/09 — please e-mail updates to editor@westseattleblog.com)

(Carryover photo from the morning – courtesy Dan – 18th/Brandon/Dawson 8″ water-main break, 50 homes without service; late-afternoon update from Dan, OPEN AGAIN)
Launching the afternoon update now. ALL MORNING INFO, INCLUDING EXCELLENT FIRSTHAND REPORTS IN THE COMMENTS SECTION, IS HERE.

1:26 PM UPDATE: From Illusions Hair Design (WSB sponsor), word that they’re in till about 3:30 pm today – had hoped to be open Sunday but with the next storm, they have revised plans and will be open TOMORROW (Saturday 12/20), 11 am-5 pm. If you have appointments in the days ahead, call 24-our line 938-3675 “to let us know if they are able to get here safely, and to leave messages if they wish to schedule appointments. We will notify those with appointments already scheduled if they need to be adjusted,” says Heather at Illusions, adding they still plan to be open 9 am-9 pm Mon-Tues, and Tues is the annual Open House with “goodies throughout the day and other fun stuff.” Then they’re closed for the holiday AFTER Tuesday 12/23, till 9 am 12/29.

Wondering about the forecast? Ricardo pointed out on partner site White Center Now that well-known meteorologist Cliff Mass has updated his prediction. And it still sounds … a bit scary. Be ready for possible power outages, in addition to the wintriness we’re all used to after the past week.

And as the afternoon progresses, new photos of major arterials are helpful for those driving home from work — we’ll start, looking north on Thistle from California:

We’re taking the mobile newsroom on the road for a while so we’ll have more road reports a bit later. Meantime, speaking of that next storm, a REALLY IMPORTANT reminder from King County Public Health:

High winds forecast this weekend may lead to power outages in some parts of King County . Given the cold temperatures, Public Health advises all residents to take steps to stay safe and warm and especially to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning.

“We can’t predict which neighborhoods if any may lose power, so we want to encourage all residents of King County to have a plan about how to stay warm and safe during adverse weather,” said Dr. David Fleming, Director and Health Officer for Public Health – Seattle & King County . “If possible today, stock up on supplies you may need during the weekend and think about how you will stay warm and safe during a possible outage.”

Carbon monoxide poisoning

Carbon monoxide poisoning can kill you Avoid carbon monoxide poisoning by never using a gas or charcoal grill, hibachi, or portable propane heater to cook indoors or heat your home. Carbon monoxide gas comes from burning fuels such as gasoline, propane, oil, kerosene, natural gas, coal or wood and can cause injury or death.

· During a power outage or at any other time, do not operate fuel-powered machinery such as a generator indoors, including the garage
· Do not cook or heat with charcoal barbeques inside your home
· Avoid combustion “space heaters” unless there is an exhaust vent

Carbon monoxide poisoning can strike suddenly and without warning. In some cases, physical symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning may include splitting headache, nausea and vomiting, and lethargy and fatigue. If you believe you could be experiencing carbon monoxide poisoning, get fresh air immediately. Call for medical help from a neighbor’s home. The Fire Department will tell you when it is safe to reenter the home.

For a full list of carbon monoxide prevention tips and other safety and disaster information in English and other languages, visit www.kingcounty.gov/health/disaster.

2:10 PM UPDATE: From comments – a route that hadn’t been reported much yet:

I can see Fauntleroy traffic just north of the Ferry Dock from my window. Traffic is moving north and south at a reduced speed, thankfully, but seems to be operating without problems.

We’re in The Junction at the moment. Lots of people out. California’s a little compact snow/ice/bumpy from the bottom of the Gatewood hill toward here, but certainly passable. Just one request – once you start moving, please be slow and steady. People are pulling over thinking they’re doing the right thing, but that’s actually more dangerous, and unsettles those driving past.

2:22 PM UPDATE: Thanks SO MUCH to Alice Enevoldsen, who has taken the info that people have provided and created an UNOFFICIAL Google Map to current state of West Seattle road quality:

Here’s the link to it directly if you want to see it in the Google environment. THANKS, ALICE! And thanks to Scott C for sending this photo of the Roxbury Safeway parking lot:

WJG also sends this potentially helpful anecdote:

My wife and I came downstairs this morning to find that the furnace had shut off and the thermostat was blank (no power). I assumed that the thermostats had gone bad and needed to be replaced. I started calling around to purchase one. I called and spoke with Murphy at Brennan Heating and Air Conditioning. He suggested that I check the condensate line for the furnace. (The condensate or water is the result of combustion and may be set up to drain on the exterior of your home). Murphy explained that the condensate would freeze in the line and the backup of condensate/water would activate a sensor or switch which prevented the furnace from entering the heating cycle. After checking the line at his suggestion and spending 30 seconds with my wife’s hair dryer blowing warm air into the line, my furnace was back up and running. Again, while I hope no one else is having this problem, Murphy did say that a large number of their service calls during this cold snap could be attributed to this. He probably saved us the money I would have spent on the
thermostat and a service call.

2:39 PM UPDATE: Brief flurry here at The Junction. Meantime, SDOT says “refreezing” tonight may require “refocusing on primary roads.” And WestSide Baby needs help. This just in from Nancy Woodland:

The weather has impacted our operations this week to a near standstill.
This is especially concerning timing with orders waiting for children
expecting warm clothes and toys for Christmas. We need extra hands to help
us sort the many donations we’ve received (yeah!) and to fill orders for
pick up by our agency partners on Monday. We’ve been closed for most of
this week but will be open on Saturday from 10am to 3pm for volunteers,
donations and pick-ups. Although our parking lot can be treacherous we’re
inviting people to make their way to White Center to help out if they are
comfortable driving. Because of the volume, we’d love to have adult or
experienced volunteers only so that we can make the most of the time we’ll
have tomorrow before the snow hits again. Even an hour or two makes a huge
difference.

Because of this week’s unpredictability, please call our phone in the
morning or check our website if there is concerning weather between this
afternoon and tomorrow. Of course, today our voicemail outgoing message
isn’t working properly so we hope that will be a good tool for communication
tomorrow.

We also plan to be open Monday 9-3 (weather permitting) and possibly on
Tuesday too. Thanks so much to everyone who supports WestSide Baby!

Photo from Ann – 16th SW, looking south from SW Henderson:

3:54 PM UPDATE: Back online after a while in transit. Some updates from the road in a moment. First, the latest from Jessie at Skylark Cafe and Club (WSB sponsor) – they’re open:

We are back in business today, all employees made it in…ElodieO from NY is rescheduled from last night and is now playing tonight at 8:00 pm in addition to the scheduled acts, so if we don’t get any cancellations from other bands we will have at least two, and likely more acts tonight (up to 4). Send anyone going stir-crazy in the Delridge neighborhood our way for hearty meals and warming beverages!

Also, 18th at Brandon is open again, reports Dan, who had originally reported its closure (see photo above). Meantime, if you’re going to Westwood Village (the other 2/3 of the team are headed there now and promised to bring back a pre-dusk photo), Todd has this alert:

Just wanted to get the word out that a possible scam artist was making rounds at the Westwood QFC earlier today. A petite Asian woman with an empty shopping cart and a QFC gift card was approaching people (my fiancee included) and in very broken English asking people to pay for her groceries in exchange for her gift card. My girlfriend very politely told her that the gift card should be usable here and we went on our way, but she tried to persuade us at least two more times. It could be an actual case of the language barrier causing this woman some confusion, but it seemed really weird and not at all reasonable, especially when she became more aggressive.

Via “lasagnahog” on Twitter, an important reminder, if you haven’t thought of it already: Charge EVERYTHING today and tomorrow in case that next storm really DOES bring outages. (We have extra laptop batteries plus extra Internet access so we’ll be online – yes, we know, you might not be able to get to your computer, but even during the ’06 windstorm when comparatively few people knew about WSB, some folks called out-of-area friends/relatives and had them read the latest updates. Or you can call us – write our number down, 206-293-6302.)

4:14 PM UPDATE: Adding some photos from our recent travels. First, Thriftway/Tully’s lot in Morgan Junction has its own snow-clearing going on:

South of there, here’s the California SW hill looking south from right about Caffe Ladro:

Same hill, looking north from ABOVE Morgan Junction:

For some reason, we liked this picture of the pigeons huddled for warmth (?) over the Junction 7-11 sign:

Just noticed the old Corner Inn awnings are finally off the future Zeeks Pizza at California/Fauntleroy:

Here’s the tricorner at Erskine/Edmunds/California in The Junction (by the way, probably too late to matter now, but we discovered the WaMuJPMorganEtc drive-through had a weather closure today – walk-in bank at Cali/Oregon was open):

And here are the Icicles of Doom over Matador:

Kelly Johnston sent this one:

Not that you were likely to be traveling that far south, but we just heard via Twitter that Zoolights is canceled tonight at Point Defiance (one of our seasonal faves but we haven’t been yet).

4:33 PM WEATHER ALERT UPDATE: Now we’re up to a Winter Storm WARNING for 4 pm Saturday to 4 pm Sunday. Newest forecast here. See the official National Weather Service briefing presentation here.

Commute reminder: West Seattle-relevant traffic cameras (including I-5, 99, 1st So. bridge) on the WSB Traffic page.

5:31 PM UPDATE: A few more road-conditions photos before they are too outdated – they’re all predusk but in some cases that’s as little as an hour or so ago. First, our trip east on SW Trenton from 35th to Westwood Village:

Minoru photographed SW Holden and says, “This is what Holden and 28th looked like about an hour ago (looking east on Holden) — they have the “closed” sign at this intersection and at the bottom of the hill by Delridge, but a lot of people were ignoring the sign (mostly SUVs). The only cars I saw spinning wheels were front-wheel drive sedans.”

From SDOT on Twitter (twitter.com/sdotsnow, their first experiment with this increasingly popular service): “As of 5:30 p.m., major roads remain passable across the city. SDOT keeping a close eye on temps and possible refreezing.”

5:59 PM UPDATE: Another pre-dusk road-condition photo – from Arbor Heights, Julie sends this shot of SW 106th, looking toward California (map):

We’ll start the evening post within the hour, after a few more “other news” notes in separate posts.

6:37 PM UPDATE: But first, a bus-related update from the Washington State Ferries service bulletins:

Riders of Metro bus #54 which stops at the Fauntleroy terminal are advised of a 2 bus schedule now in effect due to inclement driving conditions. There is only one bus in each direction at this time. Passengers are advised to plan for long waits at stops along bus route 54. Smaller buses are being used for better handling and control.

TV says Puget Sound Blood Center really needs donations. Can you help? psbc.org

7:43 PM UPDATE: Since not much is happening, we’ll just keep this update going through the evening. Working on a “pre-windstorm essentials” separate writeup right now, so look for that later (as well as a couple of other standalone weather-related items). New forecast should be out in the 9 pm hour, so that’s when we’ll get the next assessment of how things are shaping up for the weekend. (It’ll be here … [added later] still on the same track as predicted earlier, snow/wind arriving late tomorrow.)

8:47 PM NOTE: Kenyon Hall has postponed tomorrow night’s Christmas Keyboards show till 8 pm Jan. 3. We are continuing to update the Holidays and Events calendars as we hear of postponements or changes, but we’ve also made notations when we know events ARE STILL HAPPENING – like tomorrow morning’s Holiday Magic show at the Admiral Theater (11 am).

10:06 PM NOTE: In the WSB Forums, a discussion’s under way about where to go if the power goes out. We’re continuing to research but have contributed a few resources. Do you have advice to share from 2006, or any other major outage? Join the conversation!

10:52 PM NOTE: Sounds like police may be checking out Charlestown hill (west of California SW) — just heard scanner chat about people possibly out there with beer and maybe even fireworks. And yes, there’s now another callout to 46th and Charlestown. By the way, as steep as that section is, it’s not the steepest – one of the top three steepest streets in Seattle is the section of Charlestown between 59th and 60th, 20 percent slope (full steepness list here). Update – fire engine there too, something about a burn barrel.

11:46 PM UPDATE: And ATV’s, too (again, per scanner). Wow, must be SOME scene over there. 46th SW/SW Charlestown seems to be the epicenter.

(yes, that’s the official WSB HQ arterial-meets-arterial intersection, this time Thistle to California looking west)
Finally starting a new post. First, Friday’s KNOWN area school closures (pretty much everyone):

SEATTLE PUBLIC SCHOOLS
HIGHLINE PUBLIC SCHOOLS
HOLY FAMILY SCHOOL
HOLY ROSARY SCHOOL
HOPE LUTHERAN SCHOOL
OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE SCHOOL
SEATTLE LUTHERAN HS
SOUTH SEATTLE COMMUNITY COLLEGE
VASHON SCHOOL DISTRICT
WEST SEATTLE MONTESSORI
Looking for another school/district? Try SchoolReport.org

Now, the latest county transit/road alert:

King County Metro Transit continues to operate with severely reduced service this evening, while Road Services Division crews concentrate their efforts on plowing and sanding major arterials.

While the snow that fell over the county for much of the day has now moved out of the area, road and transit workers have a monumental task ahead – keeping as many roads open and people moving as possible ahead of the next storm. By Saturday afternoon, high winds, and more snow or freezing rain could present yet another major weather-related headache for residents.

On Thursday afternoon, approximately half of Metro’s and Sound Transit’s bus service in King County was temporarily suspended due to weather and road conditions. Bus passengers should assume that will be the situation for Friday morning as well. Please check the Metro Online website before you leave home to see if your bus route is operating and if it is on snow routing.

In preparation for the morning commute, King County road crews will focus on plowing and sanding major arterials and other priority snow routes such as bridges, overpasses and steep hills overnight. But motorists are being warned that these targeted response efforts do not mean that arterials will not be icy in the morning given the hard freeze that’s expected during the night. So motorists should monitor weather forecasts and traffic reports before heading out. And if you must travel, you are reminded to be prepared to drive in bad weather. That includes having good all-season tires or chains and a full tank of gas in the car.

The Department of Transportation also has a reminder for parents tonight. When the area gets significant snowfall, steep neighborhood roadways become popular sledding spots for kids. But sledding on roads is an extremely dangerous way for kids to enjoy the snow. So residents are being asked to help avoid tragic accidents by suggesting an alternative safe location for winter fun.

Motorists are advised to check out King County Road Alerts for the latest information on road closures in unincorporated King County. Residents are also encouraged to report problems on county maintained roads by calling (206) 296-8100, or 1-800-KC ROADS if they live outside the greater Seattle calling area.

9:07 PM AND SLIGHTLY BEYOND: We’re taking some time to catch up on interesting info and pix we might have missed during the fast-and-furious pace of the morning/afternoon updates, now that (we hope) everyone is safe and warm at home. We’ll share what else we come up with, such as: KOMO’s weather blog explains the “thunder snow” that started all this, so many hours ago. Also: Thanks to the people who sent sunset shots; somehow we missed that peek of sun, but Maria captured it in a Christmas-card-perfect shot:

10:36 PM: Before a few more catchup photos from this momentous day, the latest “forecast discussion” is in. By most accounts, it’ll be very cold but dry tomorrow, and that next everything-but-the-kitchen-sink storm is still skulking out there somewhere for a Saturday night-ish arrival.

CLICK AHEAD TO SEE THE REST OF OUR “AS IT HAPPENED” FRIDAY NIGHT COVERAGE (INCLUDING PHOTOS):Read More

(This post is now closed, as we move on to evening updates here; our morning coverage from 5 am-1 pm is here. Recap of known FRIDAY school closures: SEATTLE PUBLIC SCHOOLS, HIGHLINE PUBLIC SCHOOLS, SEATTLE LUTHERAN HS, HOLY ROSARY SCHOOL, WEST SEATTLE MONTESSORI, HOLY FAMILY, HOPE LUTHERAN ALL CANCELED FOR FRIDAY)

Time to start a new multiple-update post – the morning coverage (see it all here) reached epic length including almost 300 comments (really, more like 300 helpful reports – THANK YOU!!!! keep it coming). First info to share comes from Evan Nordby in Westwood:

Thistle between 35th and Delridge is still unplowed/unsanded. Delridge is acceptable south toward White Center… 16th/Ambaum is compact snow/ice, some evidence of plowing, minimal if any sand south to 128th. 128th is tricky over to Des Moines Memorial, and
unplowed/unsanded from there east to Military (where I rescued my girlfriend at 10:30). Measured 5″ on our deck table 5 minutes ago, at 34th and Thistle. Many if not all federal offices are closed (US District and Bankruptcy Courts, Labor, Homeland Security on Tukwila Intl. off the top of my
head)

Evan also sent a pic:

Meantime, SDOT has just reiterated: THE BRIDGE IS OPEN:

West Seattle Bridge Remains Open

SEATTLE–SDOT crews continue to plow and de-ice the high-level West Seattle Bridge today. Several on and off-ramps were closed temporarily due to accidents earlier today, but at this time we are not aware of any closures. Two SDOT trucks are devoted to providing continuous service to the West Seattle Bridge and the Alaskan Way Viaduct. The on-ramp to I-5 at Sixth Avenue South and South Spokane Street is closed at this time. In addition, 22 SDOT trucks continue to treat major arterial streets throughout the city.

Via Twitter – Click! Design That Fits (WSB sponsor) in the Admiral District is open, and making cocoa for customers.

12:34 PM UPDATE: From Brittany in North Delridge:

11:45 here, and still snowing! i’d say we’ve got a good 5 inches so far. wind is
blowing around like crazy, too. not many cars on the road, but neighbors are out with skis and sleds. we’re on 26th behind the community center and can see the golf course out our back windows- i imagine there will be some activity there before too long. we’re just staying warm inside for now, after some tromping around and obligatory snowball fights!

Accompanying photo:

From 47th and Edmunds (map), MP says Edmunds has become a sledding hill, and also notes the USPS is out delivering there too (hats off to the mail carriers and everyone else with a MUST-DO job today who is out there doing it):

Cami sends video from Alki (the neighborhoods just inland, not the beach itself, anyone got pix from there?):

She adds that a block party is developing nearby (56th/Lander). To recap from the morning update – Bus service this afternoon will be limited, per Metro, and West Seattle, with our wonderful hills, is a particular trouble spot. Full details here.

CLICK AHEAD TO READ MORE OF OUR AS-IT-HAPPENED COVERAGE:Read More

Rain, wind, and rising mercury — nature’s great de-icers. That’s SW Sullivan looking east and uphill from California SW (map); compare that to this view from 25 hours earlier:

Since the weather situation SEEMS to be calming down, we will just keep this one post going for weather-related updates into the afternoon and evening – if by any chance anything snowy/icy does HAPPEN to erupt, we’ll change the plan, but for now we’re tapering down. More to come, as weather-related info arrives.

2:32 PM NOTE: Somebody asked in comments, so what happened to all that snow? As you likely snow, it hit hard in Snohomish, Skagit, Whatcom counties. But in the latest forecast discussion (a new one should be out by 4 or so), National Weather Service forecasters are still fairly certain some is heading this way:

AFTER SUNSET…COLDER AIR ALOFT SPREADS IN AS TODAY’S WEATHER SYSTEM
MOVES SOUTH. THIS SHOULD BRING A CHANGEOVER BACK TO SNOW FOR EVERYONE. THE FOCUS OF CONCERN THIS EVENING WILL BE ON A BAND OF SNOW THAT FIRST DEVELOPS OVER THE NORTH SOUND EARLY THIS EVENING. MODELS POINT TO THIS FEATURE UNANIMOUSLY. HEAVY SNOWFALL AMOUNTS ARE LIKELY WITHIN THIS FEATURE…PARTICULARLY IN THE EVERETT AREA AND EAST ALONG THE HIGHWAY 2 CORRIDOR TO THE CASCADES. THIS BAND OF HEAVY SNOW WILL THEN SINK SOUTH INTO KING COUNTY BY LATE EVENING WITH MOST OF THE SEATTLE METRO AREA’S 1 TO 3 INCHES OF ACCUMULATION COMING BETWEEN 7 PM AND 1 AM.

Take it with a grain of, well, rock salt, if you wish, but that’s what they’re saying. Cliff Mass has posted an update too.

5:10 PM UPDATE: Back on commute watch. Very windy now. Still above freezing. We’ll be heading to Sodo shortly for tonight’s School Board meeting (though weather-related updates will also continue here) so we’ll see the commute route in the opposite direction, if anything’s awry along the way. So far all the road bulletins from the state are focusing on the north Sound, where as mentioned earlier, they got smacked this time. The afternoon metro-area forecast includes:

TONIGHT…SNOW SHOWERS…MIXED WITH RAIN SHOWERS EARLY THIS EVENING. SNOW ACCUMULATION 1 TO 3 INCHES. LOWS IN THE MID 20S TO LOWER 30S. SOUTHWEST WIND 10 TO 15 MPH.

THURSDAY…MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF SNOW SHOWERS. AN ADDITIONAL INCH OR SO OF ACCUMULATION POSSIBLE THROUGH MID MORNING. HIGHS IN THE LOWER 30S. SOUTHWEST WIND TO 10 MPH.

THURSDAY NIGHT…MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF SNOW SHOWERS. LOWS 16 TO 23. NORTHWEST WIND TO 10 MPH.

5:50 PM UPDATE: Smooth sailing from West Seattle to Sodo. Haven’t seen people drive that fast in … days. Radio forecasters still saying … well … the city might see a flake, or two, or more. Post a comment if you see one! Here’s where it IS snowing — Las Vegas (photos here) — most Las Vegas airport traffic is being shut down, according to one infostream we’re watching.

(this coverage concluded around 1 pm; click here to go to Wednesday afternoon weather coverage)

The 4 am forecast puts a Winter Weather Advisory into effect until 10 am tomorrow. Who — and where — will see the first flakes? Till they fall, here are some hopefully helpful links:

SchoolReport.org (for Seattle Public Schools status, among others, including Highline and Vashon)
WSB Traffic page with additional cameras/links relevant to West Seattle commuters
City info on snow/ice routes/procedures (including link to plowed-routes map)
County info on snow/ice routes/procedures (including Metro reroutes)
Metro “adverse weather” service status
King County road alerts
Latest forecast
WSDOT trouble spots via Twitter
Washington State Ferries “service bulletins”
Live 911 log for Seattle fire/medic calls

Holy Rosary sent e-mail to say that their school is open and on time.

West Seattle Montessori is open and on time with the possibility of an early dismissal if it starts snowing.

West Seattle Christian Preschool is closed.

The Tilden School is open and on time.

9:12 AM UPDATE: In case you’re at work outside West Seattle now and wondering – no flakes yet. Up north – different story; just saw a snow total report go by on TV – one spot in Skagit County has already had half a foot. Meantime, SDOT has sent an update with a reminder that, as we reported yesterday, you can call in about an iced-over non-arterial:

The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) proactively positioned crews around the city this morning, with light snow forecast, ready to respond to snow and ice on major arterial streets if needed. During the day, many crews will proceed with normal street maintenance activities while continuing to carefully monitor roadway conditions. Heavier snowfall is forecast for late this afternoon. A full contingent of crews and snow/ice equipment will be deployed in the field in advance of the evening commute.

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It’s the semi-calm before the next storm. This will be the post about what’s happening tonight – launching it here before your editor takes off for tonight’s school-closure hearing on Genesee Hill (see this post for district info on getting there safely) – but Team WSB will continue updating the weather situation throughout the night, and you are a HUGE part of the team; please continue to leave comments not just about road updates, but also what you’re seeing at stores, for example – anybody who’s NOT sold out of salt, say – or if it goes beyond a comment, please e-mail us (editor@westseattleblog.com).

6:53 PM UPDATE: Getting to Genesee Hill, no problem. But drivers are already starting to get (properly) cautious – very slow procession down the California hill through Gatewood toward Morgan Junction.

8:32 PM UPDATE: The National Weather Service’s presentation about upcoming systems, from a briefing today, is online if you want to take a look. Toplines – we may see anywhere from a trace to 5″ tomorrow. Maybe 2″ to 5″ tomorrow night. Sunday system may have more snow than whatever happens tomorrow. But of course, forecasting’s an art, not a science.

9:37 PM UPDATE: Tomorrow night’s Delridge District Council meeting has been canceled, per a note from Ron Angeles, with the expectation of worsening weather. And in fact, the new forecast discussion is out, with this outlook for the region:

PRECIPITATION WILL FIRST REACH THE AREA AROUND MIDNIGHT AND SPREAD SOUTHEAST ACROSS WESTERN WASHINGTON OVERNIGHT. BY MIDDAY WEDNESDAY THE ENTIRE FORECAST AREA SHOULD BE RECEIVING PRECIPITATION. PRECIPITATION WILL GRADUALLY TAPER OFF FROM NORTH TO SOUTH WEDNESDAY NIGHT AS THE SYSTEM MOVES OFF TO THE SOUTHEAST.

As for how much, they have all bets covered — a trace, to half a foot. So be ready for anything (or nothing). One thing for certain, though, it’s still subfreezing out there, so even so much as a drop of water out of those clouds, and it’s a snowflake. Just noticed while looking for weather radar, a record low was set for the second day in a row – 20, breaking the old record of 24 for this date.

10:30 PM NOTE: So far, the only school delays we’ve heard of for tomorrow are to the south – Highline Public Schools will start 2 hours late (as we posted in the afternoon updates) and Kennedy HS in Burien will start at 10:30. Everyone else seems to be waiting till early morning to decide – forecasters don’t seem to agree when we’ll get that next snow, so that seems to make as much sense as anything.

11:40 PM NOTE: SPU just sent the final word on those postponed trash pickups: Nothing more till next week. Bring ’em in. (A few more details in this separate post.)

Jeanne sent that picture with this:

What’s with this car? It has been stranded since Sunday night on the hill on 37th Ave SW (cross is Alaska) – Fairmount neighborhood. The sanding truck FINALLY came this AM to sand the road, but could only do 1/2 the hill because this car is still there. No one has come for it! Can the police tow it? Or move it at least to the side?!

It’s a blue Kia Spectra, License plate: (starts with 521).

With all the snow that is due to hit us again tomorrow, we need to get this car moved so the sanding truck can get to the rest of this hill! People are trying to navigate around it!

If you are the owner – please come claim your car. You can drive down the hill now!

(refresh and scroll down for the latest info/pictures)

(Closure sign atop Alaska hill west of 44th, home to TV live shots earlier)
Morning updates and comments can be found here, but now it’s time to kick off afternoon coverage. Just got a text (all methods of contacting WSB are here) from Hopey (thank you!), who found Sno-Melt at NAPA, 4th and Dawson (South Seattle), 50-pound box for $44, “maybe a dozen left.” Also if you haven’t seen it yet, please see this post about city trying to get to side streets today. More to come, including photos from co-publisher Patrick‘s trip to The Junction, which he reports is bustling with shoppers (shop now before the weather goes south; as for WHEN it will go south, tomorrow morning SEEMS to be the forecasts’ semi-consensus).

1:30 PM UPDATE: Walk All Ways at Alaska/California is bare:

But the back lots are a little icy/dicey.

UPDATE 2:18: TR is out checking the streets; she’ll post updates in the comments.

3:53 PM UPDATE: Back! Been almost all over West Seattle, except for Alki (didn’t get closer to the beach than California Way/Harbor with a side stop at Seacrest). Also to White Center. One, we can say that SALT is hard to come by in any form; even Walgreens at 35th/Morgan is out of plain ol’ table salt. McLendon in White Center (as we wrote in comments) didn’t get that shipment they were hoping for – not as of our visit an hour and a half ago, anyway. Around both West Seattle and White Center, many streets – with just a few exceptions – are wet and passable, but watch out when night falls. (The biggest exception – Wildwood past Endolyne, leading to Fauntleroy past the ferry dock and Lincoln Park, so dry and bare it resembled the downtown streets we drove last night.) Got a note from the school district about tonight’s Genesee Hill school-closure hearing – am posting it separately. It includes some road and sidewalk condition info for those attending. Here’s the link.

4:12 PM UPDATE: New forecasts are out. Still calling for snow tomorrow – likely starting very early morning hours, continuing for much of the day, maybe up to 2 inches in the city. Now, adding a few pix we took during our travels the past couple hours – this is Trenton looking west from Westwood Village:

Note the dampness that may well refreeze – common on many “secondary arterials” we traveled as well as north half of California. Conversely, looking west on Trenton from 35th, the classic Icy Side Street of Death (as coined by Mona):

On the northeast corner of that same intersection, a snowperson:

Southwest of there, here’s the California SW curve between Fauntleroy Church (WSB sponsor) and The Hall at Fauntleroy:

That whole stretch from 35th to the ferry dock was in decent shape, though the shadier portion closer to 35th is likely to reglaze after dark.

4:34 PM UPDATE: As everybody braces for the likely snow by morning, the information’s going to start flooding in again. This is part of a buses/county roads news release just in from King County Transportation:

King County Metro Transit is planning on chaining most of its buses for the Wednesday morning commute, and warns bus riders that service could be delayed by the weather conditions throughout the day – particularly in outlying areas of East and Southeast King County.

Many buses may be on snow routing, if not for the morning commute then by midday and late afternoon. Metro may have to switch to snow routes in some locations with little notice. So, the best way to stay on top of the reroutes is to check the adverse weather information on Metro Online at www.kingcounty.gov/metro, or call the Customer Information Office at (206) 553-3000.

Bus riders are reminded to:

Be patient. Buses are not always on schedule in snowy or icy conditions. And, increased ridership during bad weather can result in crowded buses and a longer-than-usual wait on the phone for the Customer Information Office;
Dress warmly for the walk to the bus stop, expect delays, and wear appropriate footwear for the weather;
Head for bus stops on main arterials or at major transfer points such as park-and-ride lots, transit centers, or shopping centers; and
Riders should wait at bus stops at the very top or very bottom of hills, because buses are often unable to stop for passengers on inclines.

And of course, the county is again reminding motorists to be prepared for winter driving. That means: having plenty of gas in the car; driving with all season tires, chains and warm clothing; and please don’t abandon your vehicle in the middle of travel lanes.

4:57 PM UPDATE: We will keep this post going till about 5:30, after which we’ll start up the evening post. A couple notes before things get too crazy (again, the next snow isn’t due till early morning): If you were planning on attending the WSB Forum members’ holiday party that was postponed Sunday because of the icy roads, member Soclwrkrinmotn is volunteering to pick up the donations – they were for some really great causes, and this weather is making matters even worse for local people in need — check out this forum thread to get the details. You can use the forums’ new Private Message (PM) feature to contact him directly. Also, the Nature Consortium has canceled its Friday afternoon free monthly West Duwamish Greenbelt hike, anticipating the weather won’t be terribly conducive. Reminder, if you cancel or change an event or schedule – that includes school closures/delays – please e-mail, call, etc. to let us know so we can share the info – all our contact info is here.

5:31 PM UPDATE: Highline Public Schools (White Center southward) plans a 2-hour delay tomorrow morning that could become a closure if weather worsens. It’s listed on schoolreport.org along with other updates. Also, a plea just out of the WSB inbox:

To those who are buying up all the snow-melting salt in Seattle.

1 bag has lasted me 3-4 years. True Value got 500 bags last night and were out by noon today.c’mon people.a little goes a long way.you don’t need 10 bags!!! (the “per person” limit at the True Value hardware store). try thinking about others’ needs as well as your own!

Hutch

Or at least, if you have some to share, offer to your neighbors too? P.S. One more note before we fold up this post and move to an “evening” edition – White Center-related news and photos are being posted, as available, at partner site White Center Now (whitecenternow.com) so if you know anyone in that area, you might invite them to check the site from time to time, or post comments on what’s happening where they are.

(this post covered Tuesday morning; go here for ongoing Tuesday afternoon updates)

(latest image from city camera pointing east on The Bridge; refresh for updated image)

(latest image from city camera at Fauntleroy/Alaska, pointing NE; refresh for updated image)
First, to mention again the school delays we first reported last night:
Seattle Public Schools, 2 hours late (see the district website)
Highline Public Schools, 2 hours late (per district website)
Hope Lutheran will start at 10:30 am
Seattle Lutheran High School will start at 10
On Vashon, everything’s regular schedule except McMurray Middle School, which will start 3 hours late, with a bus meeting “commuter students” on the 10:20 am ferry from Fauntleroy
Kennedy HS (Burien) will start 2 hours late
West Seattle Montessori will start on time.
West Seattle Christian Preschool is closed for the day.

Now, some other links for reference:

WSB Traffic page with additional cameras/links relevant to West Seattle commuters
City info on snow/ice routes/procedures (including link to plowed-routes map)
County info on snow/ice routes/procedures (including Metro reroutes)
Metro “adverse weather” service status
King County road alerts
Latest forecast
WSDOT trouble spots via Twitter
Washington State Ferries “service bulletins”
Live 911 log for Seattle fire/medic calls

6:18 AM UPDATE: Commute report from Scott C: “Driving to Everett today was uneventful. 35th still has some icy places as expected. West Seattle Bridge was de-iced and was not a problem at all. … Saw one sanding truck near Morgan/35th, but it was parked. Airport road in Everett is an icy mess.” The forecast updated around 4 am as usual, and now it says:

TONIGHT…MOSTLY CLOUDY. A CHANCE OF SNOW LATE. LOWS IN THE 20S. SOUTH WIND 5 TO 15 MPH AFTER MIDNIGHT.

WEDNESDAY…SNOW. SNOW ACCUMULATION OF 1 TO 2 INCHES. HIGHS IN THE 30S. SOUTHWEST WIND 5 TO 15 MPH.

6:30 AM UPDATE: Metro has updated its list of buses on “adverse weather” reroutes. Shorter than yesterday. 37, 53, 125. Also, the 128 “will not enter SSCC campus.”

6:40 AM UPDATE: Two reminders, from info first reported Monday: Seattle Public Schools told WSB they’re going ahead with the closure hearing at 6:30 pm tonight at Genesee Hill (Pathfinder K-8 building; the list of those signed up to speak is here); Seattle Public Utilities said trash trucks would try again today to pick up in West Seattle, after postponing yesterday’s pickups because of the icy side streets, but if you come home and your trash hasn’t been picked up, just bring it in till next Monday.

8:58 UPDATE: Commute report from Sharonn: Traffic is moving, but moving at a crawl down Avalon and on The Bridge.

9:19 AM UPDATE: Sheila e-mailed to say that despite what the Metro list says, the 125 is NOT on reroute (though, like the 128, it’s not going onto the South Seattle Community College campus).

9:52 AM UPDATE: Marco e-mailed to say there’s a fire truck blocking the right lane of 35th southbound at Morgan. (There’s no specific incident there so may just be an inspection or other stop.)

10:12 AM UPDATE: We’re asking SDOT for an official response on why side streets aren’t sanded/plowed, since so many are asking. We have linked to the official routes before; find that link again here. Also, there is an FAQ about snow and ice removal on the SDOT site here; it includes this passage:

Our 27 trucks with sanders and snowplows must take care of 1,531 lane miles of arterial streets. Once the snow stops and we are comfortable with the condition of the arterial streets, we may be able to take care of residential streets on a request-basis. However, many residential streets are too narrow for our plows to work in them safely.

11:04 AM UPDATE: KOMO‘s Mark Miller is at 44th and Alaska next to a closure sign. That would be the Alaska hill heading west. Satellite picture moments later shows moisture definitely on the way. Just stepped outside to get this photo looking north on California from Thistle – the unplowed “side street” stub of Cali is in the foreground:

11:16 AM UPDATE: We just read the latest “forecast discussion” from the National Weather Service. They believe the metro area snow will start tomorrow (Wednesday) morning – but maybe not be as heavy as a second dose Wednesday NIGHT. Read more here. For those who have been following meteorologist Cliff Mass‘s online writings, his post from just before 6 am talks about 4 am-4 pm snow tomorrow – and reminds us there’s another system coming in over the weekend.

11:45 AM UPDATE: Co-publisher Patrick is back from hitting a few local streets (he’s going back out and will come back with pix next time). He says Thistle east of 35th is “ugly.” Avalon and even steep Yancy (past Stor-More [WSB sponsor] and on to Allstar) are fine. Still looks bad down side streets, but many main routes look good.

11:50 AM UPDATE: This will be a separate post in a moment. Just got a response from Rick Sheridan at SDOT re: the residential-street problem. Here’s that link. We’ll also be starting the Tuesday afternoon weather post within the hour, will make a note here when that happens.

12:13 PM UPDATE: We’ll be checking next with Seattle Public Utilities re: the trash prognosis – heard a TV report that said they were “trying” again but not sure if that’s really from a new update (there’s no new news release out).

(Taken from the curb in front of Rite-Aid on California around 8:30 pm)
Starting a new post, about what’s happening tonight but mostly looking ahead to tomorrow. For starters, we just got word that Holy Rosary School will start at 10 am tomorrow. Also, Our Lady of Guadalupe will start at 10:30. More to come.

8:33 PM UPDATE: Just back from downtown. If you haven’t been there since the snow – it’s stunning how little evidence of it can be found there. A few ice crystals on the steps from the parking lot to Town Hall; otherwise, the bone-chilling cold air is all West Seattle seems to have in common with the heart of the city. (Separate report later on the Viaduct forum we went there to cover.) Took a longer way home just to survey some of the main streets – Bridge fine, Admiral hill to California fine, California all the way home, fine in the lanes, iced in the turn lane, and the side streets all look like some variation of this:

That’s the California end of SW Southern (map), which opens wide like a delta of sorts for some reason that probably made sense back when all this was getting graded in the first half of the last century.

9:11 PM UPDATE: Particularly for those who just don’t read comments, we have to share this: Roger looked into possible reasons for aforementioned “delta” – and discovered there was a streetcar route in the area (we’d never heard they went that far up the hill) – here’s the 1941 map he found. Meantime, we also wanted to share our photo of the Thriftway parking lot at the bottom of the hill — a little ice around the parking spaces but the driving lanes are in good shape (unlike at least one business parking lot we passed moments earlier – 7-11 at Erskine/California):

Metro bus riders – The “adverse weather” page notes that it will be updated for Tuesday after 4:30 am.

9:25 PM UPDATE: The new “forecast discussion” just appeared, from the National Weather Service. They suspect two more rounds of snow are en route:

MODIFIED ARCTIC AIR WILL CONTINUE TO FLOW INTO WESTERN WASHINGTON TONIGHT. … A FRONTAL SYSTEM WILL BRING MORE SNOW WEDNESDAY. COLD WEATHER WILL CONTINUE TO GRIP THE REGION ALL WEEK WITH ANOTHER CHANCE OF LOWLAND SNOW OVER THE WEEKEND.

10:12 PM UPDATE: A few more school notes: Hope Lutheran will start at 10:30 am tomorrow. Seattle Lutheran High School will start at 10. On Vashon, everything’s regular schedule except McMurray Middle School, which will start 3 hours late, with a bus meeting “commuter students” on the 10:20 am ferry from Fauntleroy. Kennedy HS (Burien) will start 2 hours late.

10:51 PM UPDATE: No word on Seattle Public Schools, by the way; they announced today’s decision around 4:45 am so may be planning to do the same. We’re watching the SPS home page and schoolreport.org. Don’t forget that if you were supposed to have Monday trash pickup, the city’s going to try again tomorrow, and if that doesn’t work, just bring it back and they’ll let you put out double next Monday.

11:22 PM UPDATE: Seattle Public Schools just posted. 2 hours late. Here’s the full plan:

2 Hours Late. Buses Operate on Snow Routes. No Door-to-Door Service. No Half-Day Kindergarten. No A.M. or P.M. Preschool. No A.M. or P.M. Head Start. No Activity Runs.

A reminder that the district will also be making those new “School Messenger” phone calls again in the morning – so if you already know what you need to know and want to sleep in after staying up late, turn off your ringer!

11:59 PM UPDATE: Sanding/de-icing truck sighting, at California/Thistle – it’s turning around to head back north on California.

(this update covered 1 pm to 7 pm; please go here for the evening updates – thanks!)

(The Olympics, with Blake Island in the foreground, photographed by Jana in Upper Fauntleroy)
After publishing a few other items, it’s time to start the Monday afternoon coverage, looking ahead to the commute back home from work and school. First, an update from Rick Sheridan at SDOT:

Out of 13 SDOT plow/sanding trucks working primary and secondary arterials citywide, we currently have eight trucks focusing on the streets of West Seattle. This emphasis on West Seattle has been ongoing since Sunday. The problem is that we will melt the ice with sand and liquid de-icer, but below freezing temperatures cause a rapid refreeze.

However, SDOT will keep working those arterials streets and will have plow/sanding vehicles standing by at the West Seattle Bridge and Alaskan Way Viaduct for the evening commute.

We mentioned earlier that one of the many treacherously icy non-arterials was SW Myrtle east of (and uphill from) Delridge, by Sanislo Elementary; here’s an update from Sanislo mom Lisa K, who said the street was closed by the time she reached the vicinity:

The principal was out with a few staff members trying to assist in buses turning around on the hill on 21st–not an easy thing to do. Bus drivers are sure earning their $$ today. Classes were about half full when school started, and the front office announced to teachers that two buses were still incoming. I just spoke to the school secretary, and she said that they were told the roads near the school would be sanded, but she hadn’t heard yet if that had actually happened. Even with the sand, it is a steep grade and next to the school there’s little passing room for errors–I don’t know that I’d try it unless things really melt off by afternoon. Those with more winter driving experience may feel more confident than I, however. If you’re fairly sure-footed and don’t have to carry little ones, I’d recommend parking on Delridge and taking the Myrtle stairway. We decided to take that route to school this morning, and although the stairway was a bit icy, it wasn’t terrible if you took your time and had on appropriate footwear (slippy shoes would be a bad idea on your way back down). Certainly easier than trying to negotiate Myrtle or 21st.

School, you’ll recall, started two hours late; we don’t expect to hear till much later tonight what the plan is for tomorrow, and we’ll let you know as soon as it’s announced. (And again, if you are affiliated with a private school, we appreciate getting that info too; we posted this list of all known school changes starting late last night and updating through the morning.)

Samantha from West Seattle Family YMCA (WSB sponsor) just sent this update on their changes:

West Seattle YMCA health & wellness facility will close at 8 pm.
Family Programs will close at 6 pm.
Fauntleroy YMCA health & wellness facility will close at 8 pm.
No evening Kids Corner at Fauntleroy.
Classes at both facilities may or may not run, based on instructor’s ability to get in safely.
Call 206-937-1000 for Fauntleroy specifics, 206-935-6000 for West Seattle specifics.

YMCA Childcare/School-based Programs:
Community Learning Centers will be closed.
Child care at Concord Elementary and Cooper Elementary will close at 3 pm.
Preschool at the West Seattle YMCA will close at 5 pm.
Child care at West Seattle Elementary and Arbor Heights Elementary will close at 6 pm (normal time).

1:31 PM UPDATE: It’s official – this was the coldest December 15 ever; Times says 19 degrees was the low at Sea-Tac, breaking the record of 20 set in 1964. A “special weather statement” is in effect, warning about the continued cold (tonight’s low could be even lower, and snow is still a possibility for Wednesday).

2:20 PM UPDATE: Some potentially helpful links looking ahead to the afternoon/evening commute:
Latest list of bus routes on “adverse weather” reroutes
School changes (though any for tomorrow are not likely to be announced till much later)
King County road alerts
Latest forecast
WSDOT trouble spots via Twitter
Washington State Ferries “service bulletins”
Live 911 log for Seattle fire/medic calls

Here’s the latest pic (refresh for updates) from the city camera pointed east on The Bridge:

Other cameras of West Seattle relevance are on our Traffic page.

3:42 PM UPDATE: From Dewey Potter at Seattle Parks:

Because of the icy street conditions on all access points at High Point Community Center, basketball practices are cancelled there for tonight.

Four teams were scheduled to practice tonight. Center staff will call coaches and participants to notify them of the cancellation. High Point staff will work with the coaches to schedule a make-up practice day for each team. For more information, the public can call High Point Community Center Coordinator Brian Judd at 206-684-7422.

And if anybody needs a reminder – Hillary sent this photo from 42nd SW – didn’t say where, but really, there are dozens of places like this:

The city had reported earlier that trash service was postponed today for all of West Seattle; maybe that message didn’t get to all the trucks, because Nathan sent us this photo:

He wrote:

things were not going well for at least one garbage truck trying to negotiate Holly St. near 44th Ave. SW. I took these pictures at 12 PM, looks like the garbage truck must have slid down the slight hill near the intersection of Holly and 44th SW and hit the parked Dodge Neon.

If you missed it this morning, here’s the city announcement again about trash service.

4:29 PM UPDATE: Just got word from Fran Z that Alki Bingo is canceled tonight — no session next week since it’ll be almost Christmas, so that means the next scheduled session is January 5th. (It’s on the WSB West Seattle Events calendar every week.) Fran also reminds those who do a lot of walking, like she does, that the sidewalks are very slick in so many spots, just like those side roads. Meantime, your editor here is about to head downtown for the Viaduct forum – with access along the way, of course, so we can provide commute updates from whatever we see in the other direction; co-publisher Patrick is holding down the fort at HQ for any updates in the meantime. Before the switchover — here’s a photo just in from Bob Bollen at Alki:

Side note: For the citywide traffic-camera network – click here. For the state highway traffic cams, click here.

5:27 PM UPDATE: Road report from your editor: No problem getting downtown (where the Town Hall Viaduct forum is about to start with a recap of everything that’s gotten the decisionmaking agencies to this point). Route: California from Thistle to Fauntleroy, Fauntleroy to the Bridge. All just great – of course, except for the stub of side street we had to travel first, and we saw many such streets shining with ice as we drove along Fauntleroy and caught glimpses in our peripheral vision. If you have to return to such a street – be very, very, very, very careful. And in fact, a road-closure report is just in from Melissa in Westwood:

SW Barton Place (in between Barton St. and Roxbury St.) is a sheet of ice and was closed this afternoon around 4:00 due to the bad conditions. I have no idea when it’s reopening, but since there are other ways of getting around, I don’t think it will cause too much of a hassle. Be careful!

6:12 PM UPDATE: Starting an evening post shortly (after 6:30 pm, when hopefully most folks are home safely and we switch to looking ahead to tomorrow). First a note – Winter Storm Watch now in effect for late Tuesday night through late Wednesday night; here’s the latest forecast. And one more daytime beauty shot – Vanessa photographed a windsurfer at Alki:

6:36 PM UPDATE: 911 log shows a “motor vehicle accident” at California/Dawson south of The Junction. No other details, but sounds like an extra reason to avoid the area for a while.

(refresh/scroll down for the newest information; Monday school changes we have so far – Holy Rosary 10 am start, Holy Family 10 am, Our Lady of Guadalupe 10:30 am, Hope Lutheran 10:30 am, Seattle Lutheran 11 am, Shorewood Christian CLOSED)

(California/Thistle after dark tonight – look close to notice the glistening ice)
Our Sunday morning coverage is here; our Sunday afternoon coverage is here; now it’s time to start a new post for Sunday night – especially as we look ahead to tomorrow, and what conditions will be like as people look ahead to the workweek, and school (the last week before winter break, for most). Keep posting your reports, and sending photos to editor@westseattleblog.com – the information you provide is helping thousands of your West Seattle neighbors stay up to date with what’s happening, particularly important since most accounts suggest our area was hit harder than other parts of the city. Thanks again for your collaboration. First up, another update from the Goulds, reporting on multiple areas in south West Seattle:

Barton Street fairly good. Buses moving up the hill fine. Some folks are still a bit nervous going down, including the buses, so quite a bit of slow going down hill, at times. Did see a another sander and a de-icer truck going up.

It is our sense that the sand is in short supply and they are using it very judiously. It has been very hit and miss where we saw the sand. They may have also been trying to hit the worse spots as quick as they could, covering as much ground as possible, until they had time to do more thorough coverage.

Barton east of 35th – now much better, I followed the sander and de-icer to Target. 35th from Roxbury to Avalon is generally good. Some spots both lanes are not completely clear so folks are trying to avoid the icier lane. Most people do seem to be driving quite sensibily, but you can easily tell who the
folks are that are not having a fun time.

Roxbury – east and down the Olsen Place hill and across the Cloverdale Bridge: Roxbury overall is in better shape than 35th. Olsen Place hill is fine – clear and no apparent problems.

Also for folks interested in Thistle, I saw the sander and de-icer coming east on Thistle, crossing 35th and continuing on. So my guess is, is that Thistle is also in pretty good shape now.

The newest forecast now says “quite cold through next weekend” and flatly declares “SNOW” for next Wednesday; see it here. Another road report now from Kevin in Arbor Heights: “100th west of 35th appears to be sanded but still very slick. I’m a couple of houses south on 42nd SW and our street is just solid ice as most likely the case with all the other side streets.” He says vehicles DO appear to be proceeding slowly and cautiously. However, Meg reports a nearby trouble spot:

There are three cars stranded at the curve on Marine View Dr SW, just south of 45th and Endolyne Joe’s. It’s very slippery on the curve headed South, and on the straight-away part of the hill where you come out of all the foliage. No sand or de-icer truck all day, which is typical, the hill is treacherous.

Updates as we get ’em (photos welcome too – anybody going to the Christmas Ship? – editor@westseattleblog.com) 6:05 PM: Folks are discussing power flickers in the comments – no power outages listed on the city site so far; here’s where they will be, if something big happens (hope not!). 7:39 PM UPDATE: As mentioned in the comments, some people in that area of Morgan Junction lost power entirely. That’s not listed on the city site; we’ll check by phone to see if there’s information on what’s going on. We’d heard from Vlad Oustimovitch, who lives in the area, that his wife Kathryn had called City Light to ask about the microoutages and was told about “20 blocks” were affected by the blickering and that crews were en route. However, now, in addition to the comment here, we also just received a note from someone whose friends near Thriftway are without power. 7:48 PM UPDATE: City Light says the outage is affecting 200 “customers” (which means homes/businesses) between SW Graham north, SW Webster south, 39th SW east, 47th SW west, and says crews are “currently patroling to find the cause of the outage.”

8:10 PM UPDATE: No outage updates yet. Meantime, we’re watching both the Seattle Public Schools site and SchoolReport.org for any school info for tomorrow morning that might affect folks in this area – as we mentioned earlier, though, the district often does not make the decision until early in the morning. It’s also a tough call when the weather conditions don’t affect the city (and therefore the district) uniformly – you may remember a time a few years back when the north end had snowy, icy conditions, while West Seattle was in relatively great shape, but schools were closed anyway because more routes were dangerous around the city than not. One other note – the WSB Forums have a few weather-related topics going, including “what’s better for your driveway/walkway: kitty litter or salt?” Join the conversation here. Good news for bus riders (and drivers who share the road with buses): King County promises buses will be chained tomorrow! (That same link contains other general commute-related info from the county, mostly re: unincorporated areas.)

8:23 PM UPDATE: Just a note while things are relatively quiet – besides watching schools and roads, we are also watching for other information relevant to tomorrow – government agency operation changes, major employers, what have you, so please share that kind of information too if you think it’s of value to more than a few people (comments and/or editor@westseattleblog.com). Besides keeping watch till late tonight, we will of course be updating for the morning commute too, monitoring various sources for West Seattle-specific/relevant road info. Both the city and the county promise to be on their game.

8:50 PM UPDATE: We have paged Seattle City Light media reps in hopes of getting an update on the Morgan/Gatewood outage. If we don’t get any new information soon, we’ll head down the hill (the area is a mile directly north of us) and look for crews. Meanwhile, a photo just in from David Hutchinson, one of many people who contributed great photos earlier today too:

David says, “Just got back from seeing the Christmas Ship near the Don Armeni boat ramp. A small group braved the cold temperatures and wind. The bonfire was appreciated.” Also: Michelle, in comments, reports one West Seattle school change has been announced: Start time for Holy Rosary is 10 am tomorrow. By the way, if you’re looking for the website or phone number for a West Seattle school, we have a fairly comprehensive list (probably missing a few preschools – those are hard to track) on the WSB Schools page.

COVERAGE CONTINUED THROUGH MIDNIGHT – TO SEE THE REST OF IT, CLICK AHEAD:Read More