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Weather gods again target Pike People Street, this time with threat of Seattle snow

A snow morning on E Pike circa February 2011 (Image: CHS)

A snow morning on E Pike circa February 2011 (Image: CHS)

It’s time to admit it. The final pilot of the Pike People Street program is cursed. Though if the last weather-related cancelation is any indication, you won’t actually have 2 to 5 inches of Seattle snow to worry about Thursday afternoon.

Forecast models for Thursday are going a little nuts but there is the possibility for three to five inches of snow up and down the I-5 corridor — including Seattle. The storm could also bring high winds and freezing rain. UPDATE 8:50 PM: The situation has now been escalated to a National Weather ServiceWinter Storm Watch” —

A WEATHER SYSTEM WILL MOVE FROM SOUTH TO NORTH OVER WESTERN WASHINGTON ON THURSDAY AND THURSDAY NIGHT. COLD AIR WILL BE IN PLACE AT THE SURFACE WHEN PRECIPITATION BEGINS. THE PRECIPITATION IS LIKELY TO BEGIN AS SNOW…THEN CHANGE TO RAIN. AROUND 12 HOURS OF SNOWFALL IS POSSIBLE AT MOST LOCATIONS IN THE INTERIOR LOWLANDS. FOUR INCHES OR MORE OF SNOW IS POSSIBLE. THE HOOD CANAL AREA…WHERE STRONG EAST WINDS WILL ADD AN UPSLOPE COMPONENT TO THE SNOW…COULD GET SEVEN INCHES OR MORE. THE NSET OF SNOW…AND THE CHANGE TO RAIN…WILL BE EARLIER IN THE SOUTH AND LATER IN THE NORTH. BY FRIDAY MORNING IT IS ANTICIPATED THAT SNOW WILL HAVE CHANGED TO RAIN EVERYWHERE.

While SDOT’s coordinator for the pedestrian pilot program Seth Geiser is hoping for a “little winter wonderland” to accompany Thursday’s Capitol Hill Art Walk-coordinated street closure in the heart of Pike/Pine, the Spokane native is ready for a cancellation if his department needs to swing into action for a serious storm.

“With SDOT crews working hard, it’s a little silly to also be worrying about public space protocols,” Geiser said.

Pike People Street December Art Walk

If Thursday’s weather is mostly just good fun in the snow, the event will still happen. For now, Geiser said SDOT is “plowing along” — yes, he really said that — and planning a closure of E Pike and 11th Ave along with tables and chairs for people to chill on and a few canopies to help them get out of the snow or rain for a bit. Expect festive decorations and maybe a hot beverage. But mostly, the event is about opening up the area to the people out to enjoy the art walk.

“A big takeaway from the nightlife closure,” Geiser said, “is, at a certain level, just the natural vitality of people in the space takes over.”

You can continue to provide feedback on the pilots via this SDOT survey. Maybe ask for sleds. Or for the next snowy pilot to be moved to Denny Hill.

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