West Seattle, Washington
02 Friday
The National Weather Service has canceled the “high wind watch” and issued a “wind advisory” in its place — the predictions are a little less dire, and the strongest gusts are now expected to be not as strong as first feared:
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN SEATTLE HAS ISSUED A WIND ADVISORY…WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 2 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 11 PM PDT THIS EVENING. THE HIGH WIND WATCH IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT.
WINDS WILL INCREASE OVER MOST OF THE LOWLANDS THIS AFTERNOON RIGHT AHEAD OF THE INCOMING WEATHER SYSTEM. SOUTH WINDS IN THE 10 TO 20 MPH RANGE WILL INCREASE TO 20 TO 30 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 40 MPH BETWEEN 2 PM AND 8 PM. THE WINDS WILL DECREASE SIGNIFICANTLY AFTER 11 PM.
According to the accompanying “forecast discussion” from early this morning, the rain might be more worrisome than the wind, at this point, with up to an inch likely in the city today.
The National Weather Service‘s nighttime “forecast discussion” is online now, and the predictions haven’t changed much. The strongest wind tomorrow is expected out at the (ocean) coast and up Whatcom/Skagit/Whidbey way, but we’re still likely to get gustiness here in the big city. Excerpt, including talk about a second storm to follow:
PLENTY ENOUGH SUPPORT FOR THE CURRENT FORECAST WITH WARNING CRITERIA (GREATER THAN 40 MPH SUSTAINED AND/OR GUSTS 58 MPH OR MORE) OVER THE COAST AND NW INTERIOR. STILL IFFY IF THE CRITERIA WILL BE MET ELSEWHERE…BUT IT WILL BE WINDY REGARDLESS. ENOUGH FOR AN ADVISORY ANYWAY. THE STRONG WINDS WILL LAST THROUGH A LARGE PART OF THE DAY FOR THE COAST…WITH THE STRONGEST WINDS OVER THE INTERIOR DURING THE MID AFTERNOON INTO THE EARLY EVENING…THEN EASING UP INTO THE LATE EVENING HOURS.
ON FRIDAY…ANOTHER SYSTEM WILL MOVE INTO THE AREA WITH PLENTY OF RAIN AND CLOUDS AND CONTINUED COOL TEMPERATURES. WIND WISE…THIS SYSTEM LOOKS A GOOD DEAL WEAKER THAN THE THURSDAY SYSTEM…BUT IT WILL HAVE A DECENT SW BREEZE IN ITS WAKE. THE OFF AND ON WET WEATHER IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE INTO THE EARLY PART OF THE WEEKEND.
First — King County leaders have chimed in, including preparedness advice; read it here. (Helpfully, that page includes this link to more information about food spoilage when your fridge loses power; that was a big point of confusion for us and others during the longterm outage last year.)
Second — the city Transportation Department issued this alert, including a phone number that is worth writing down someplace:
Stormy conditions are forecast for tomorrow’s afternoon commute period. An abundance of leaves brought down by the wind and rain may clog street drains and result in spot flooding. Drivers should use caution and proceed slowly where water has accumulated on the roadway, and should not drive through deep water.
In the event of heavy winds, trees and branches or other debris may fall into the roadway, and power may be lost in some areas. Drivers should be alert for obstacles on the roadway, and treat dark or twisted traffic signals as all-way stops. Blocked roadways, damaged traffic signs or malfunctioning traffic signals within the City of Seattle may be reported to SDOT’s 24-hour Street Maintenance Office at 206.386.1218.
Today SDOT crews readied equipment and supplies to prepare for tomorrow’s forecast of bumpy weather. The crews are ready to clear roads of storm debris, repair damaged traffic signals and signs, and work with other city departments to keep roads open and power on throughout the city.
Press release just out of the inbox. Please note the line about the trees — go check yours if applicable:
With a windstorm expected in the greater Seattle area Thursday evening, Seattle City Light is preparing crews and stocking its trucks to respond to any outages that occur and restore service.
The National Weather Service is forecasting sustained winds of 25 to 35 mph and gusts of 40 to 50 mph. The peak of the storm is expected between 3 p.m. and 9 p.m.
Winds of that level are slightly stronger than a typical winter storm in this area. They have the potential to damage the electrical system, causing outages.
One particular concern is trees that were damaged in last December’s major storm but are still standing. Those trees have been weakened and are more susceptible to wind. Also, because many of the trees still hold a majority of their leaves, they act more like a sail in catching the wind, further increasing the risk.
On the good side, soils are not saturated, giving trees more of an anchor. City Light also has trimmed trees along more than 100 miles of power lines this year to provide clearance that helps reduce the likelihood of damage.
Residents are encouraged to take this opportunity to get prepared for winter storms and other emergencies. Three ways you can begin preparing today are to make an emergency plan for your family, build an emergency kit and get involved with your neighbors.
You can learn more at www.seattle.gov/emergency.
The National Weather Service has just published its latest “forecast discussion,” and it’s still calling for strong winds tomorrow afternoon/evening:
THE STRONGEST WINDS IN THE PUGET SOUND AREA WILL OCCUR DURING THE LATE AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING. AS FOR HOW STRONG…IT ALL DEPENDS ON HOW TIGHT THE SOUTH TO NORTH PRESSURE GRADIENT IS…WHICH DEPENDS ON THE TRACK OF THIS SYSTEM AS IT MOVES ONSHORE. AT THIS TIME WE ARE EXPECTING SOUTH TO SW WINDS 25 TO 35 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 50 MPH FOR THE INTERIOR.”
While we await the next update on the High Wind Watch that’s in effect for tomorrow for most of the region — we just got a beautiful photo of yesterday’s stunning sunrise, courtesy of Steve Fischer, who took pix while waiting for the Water Taxi.
From the link we mentioned earlier this morning, where National Weather Service meteorologists elaborate at least twice daily on what they see heading this way, the newest “forecast discussion” is now published, including this excerpt, referring to tomorrow (Thursday): “FOR THE PUGET SOUND AREA…APPEARS THAT THE STRONGEST WINDS WILL OCCUR DURING THE LATE AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING HOURS AS A STRONG SOUTH TO NORTH PRESSURE GRADIENT DEVELOPS.”
Unless you moved here after Windstorm 2006 last December, you may be quaking like a leaf in the breeze at the prospect of the High Wind Watch alert just issued this morning — after all, West Seattle got hit the worst in that December-to-remember wallop, with most of us losing electricity for at least a few days. The city promises it will do a better job of getting out information this year regarding when the juice is coming back; crews have also been out for weeks trying to take some preventive action – we saw city tree trimmers along Cali just a few days ago. So get your batteries (laptop too!), your firewood, your blankets, your nonperishable food and drink, and hang on. As for the latest on whether Windstorm ’07 is really on the way, besides the usual collection of basic online forecasts (we like Weather Underground), here’s a great page to watch, with behind-the-scenes talk about what the real experts are seeing: The local National Weather Service “forecast discussion,” updated several times daily.
Between bursts of rain this afternoon and evening, dramatic cloud formations graced our area in almost every direction. We missed the photo-ops but luckily WSB reader Anne did not — she e-mailed us this photo (thank you!) taken from the Admiral viewpoint:
Caught up with some of the Seattle CROP Walk’ers in the rain and the wind a little while ago just south of Alki Point. Hundreds of people from churches all over the area are braving the 3-mile Alki-area route today to raise money and awareness to fight hunger, locally (benefiting agencies include the West Seattle and White Center Food Banks) and worldwide.
Remember last December? (If you’ve forgotten, or you weren’t here, browse the WSB December ’06 Windstorm category.) Time to get ready for this year — we’ll be offering lots of info on that shortly — for starters, the city just announced a new round of free “disaster prep” classes, including two next month in WS.
That’s what Mark Bourne wrote as the subject of the e-mail in which he sent us this photo, and really, we couldn’t say it any better.
-On the door at La Rustica tonight: “Closed For Remodel/thanks for your patience.” (Interesting way to put it.)
-On the gate at Hotwire tonight: Sidewalk Cinema rained out one more time. This was supposed to be the reschedule of last month’s “Monty Python & the Holy Grail” rainout. When the raindrops started smacking the windshield just as we entered The Junction, we were mega-bummed, to say the least.
-On the window at Chuck & Sally’s tonight: The same “closed for several days” sign that’s been up for several weeks. City records show that someone filed a “land use code” complaint a few days after our early September report, but no indication exactly what they’re alleged to have violated, and no resolution of the complaint yet.
Seconds away from shutting down the computer, we checked e-mail one last time, and good thing we did: a note had just come in from Joe (thank you!!!!) with these spectacular photos of the lightning we’ve seen the past few hours. Joe’s full gallery of pix taken from what he described as “the west tip of Alki, facing southwest” can be found here.
We were so hoping to snag a pretty summer sunset photo tonight for the first time in a while. The clouds refused to cooperate. So instead, in case you didn’t get to go out and enjoy it, here’s actual proof that summer returned for a while this afternoon …. honest.
For everyone looking for proof that the Seattle summer weather this year truly is as exceptionally lousy as it seems … our favorite non-WS bloggers, at Capitol Hill Seattle, have crunched the numbers one more time.
Sign on the gate @ Hotwire says last night’s rained-out showing of “Monty Python & the Holy Grail” WILL be rescheduled for “a Saturday in September,” no date yet, we’ll let you know the second we hear. Meantime, in the rainout post on his Sidewalk Cinema blog, movie maestro Philip notes that next Saturday’s “Edward Scissorhands” showing will have an 8 pm opening band, Pagasys (hear them here).
Within just a few minutes’ time — the view westward from Alki Avenue; the view south from Constellation Park:
What kind of a summer IS this? For the second time in a month, the Sidewalk Cinema outdoor movie next to Hotwire is rained out tonight. We’re dejected, as we were completely looking forward to “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” and the live opening band. We’ll let you know if and when we find out about a rescheduling date; in the meantime, “Edward Scissorhands” is scheduled for next Saturday night — cross your fingers for cloudlessness.
If you would rather peruse some stats than simply rage at the sogginess, our friends at Capitol Hill Seattle are looking back at the past decade. (We have no memory of the soaked summer of ’97. Maybe that’s a good thing.)
Even in Seattle, who in the world could imagine that if you wait till late July to schedule an outdoor-movie series, the first one would be rained out? Well, it happened in The Junction tonight; sign on the gate @ Hotwire says “Chicken Run” is rescheduled to Friday, August 10th.
Now, the real challenge: Sleeping in a house that hasn’t let go of the afternoon heat yet. In case you face a similar challenge, here are three final photos for the day. First, the incredible neon sunset, photographed from the top of Gatewood Hill:
Next, a view of Duwamish Head before the sun went down, photographed by Bill Barna:
And from 35th and Roxbury, a tropical — and appropriate — window decoration.
OK, off now to stuff ice cubes in the pillowcase …
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