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SNOWBRUARY 2019: Sunday update — More snow coming, the week ahead, Capitol Hill’s DJ snow party

UPDATE 2/10/19 5:45 PM: It’s here. Again. With snow falling again across Capitol Hill and beyond, Monday is shaping up as another Seattle snow day. Seattle Public Schools made the call earlier in the afternoon — its campuses will be closed Monday and most other schools in the area immediately followed suit.

The forecast looks increasingly serious for Monday’s storm:

  • Monday— Snow likely before 1pm, then rain and snow, possibly mixed with freezing rain and sleet. High near 36. Wind chill values between 21 and 31. North wind 5 to 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. Little or no ice accumulation expected. New snow and sleet accumulation of less than one inch possible.
  • Monday Night— Rain and snow, possibly mixed with freezing rain and sleet before 10pm, then rain between 10pm and 4am, then rain and snow likely after 4am. Low around 31. Wind chill values between 19 and 27. Northeast wind 6 to 13 mph becoming south in the evening. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New snow and sleet accumulation of 2 to 4 inches possible.
  • Tuesday— Rain and snow showers likely. Cloudy, with a high near 35. South southwest wind around 18 mph, with gusts as high as 24 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New snow accumulation of less than one inch possible.

SDOT’s Sunday early evening road clearing work has focused on E Madison and E John with passes down 10th Ave E and 19th Ave E earlier in the afternoon. SDOT has posted more about how it handles snow and ice conditions here.

Original report: With overnight temperatures in the teens, Capitol Hill remained frozen Sunday as attention it shifting to another possible big round of snow on its way.

Forecasters say Sunday could bring a bit more snow but that Monday night into Tuesday could bring multiple inches on top of Seattle’s layer of snow and ice. The conditions could create quite a mess with Seattle in a border zone of snow and freeing rain:

In the meantime, as of Sunday morning, officials had yet to make announcements regarding things like school closures but with temperatures unlikely to get much higher than freezing, it is unlikely that conditions will greatly change before the end of the day.

Outreach teams from King County and the City of Seattle remain on patrol around downtown and parts of Capitol Hill to help people on the streets get out of the cold. You can help by dialing 2-1-1. The county and the city have increased available shelters and warming facilities through the recent storms and into next week. A roster of severe weather shelters is here.

King County Metro remains shifted to its Emergency Snow Network which leaves only a core number of Hill-serving routes moving including the 10 and the special, snow-only 90. Capitol Hill Station and light rail remain fully operational.

Side streets and nearly all sidewalks remain a mix of slushy snow, hard packed ice, and slippery mess. Many streets across Capitol Hill and the Central District are closed or impassable. The city’s snow response map shows many of the updates. SDOT’s Sunday morning’s clearing efforts have focused on major routes like Broadway, E Pike, and E Madison, and important lesser arterials like E Aloha and Belmont Ave E.

Road hazards, blockages, or dangerous conditions have recently been reported on Lake Washington Blvd E at Lake Foster and Boyer, Malden at Mercer, 16th at Howell, Summit at Madison, Delmar at Interlaken, the 1800 block of 23rd Ave E, Summit at Madison, 1400 block of 19th Ave, and 21st and Fir.

SDOT says streets — and sidewalks — along gold and green routes (PDF) will be prioritized for clearing during the cold blast. You can also check the CHS Street Cams page before you head out. And the CHS Weather page has the latest reports from local observations.

Many of the issues involve downed tree branches. City Light and Seattle Fire have been called out to multiple incidents this weekend involving downed wires. Fortunately, power outages have been mostly limited to individual customers.

The struggles to keep sidewalks clear have reached sometimes comic proportions. After reports of smashed up cat food kibble smeared over Pike/Pine sidewalks, CHS found that, indeed, someone had confused advice for spreading kitty litter for traction and made a gross — but delicious mess. The apartment building maintenance person sweeping up one pile of the kibble did not seem amused.

Meanwhile, we haven’t been able to track down a cause for the large boom heard around the Hill and the Central District just after midnight early Sunday morning. Reports of a flash and a boom could have been a utility transformer exploding. We’ll put our money on fireworks, for now.

The cold snap has also brought time for exploration and winter fun. Nordic skiers traded tips on which of the teen avenues were the best out and back routes with tire tracks serving as trailing grooming. Sledders filled Volunteer Park. And many cafes and restaurants were filled and staffed by employees who we’e lucky to have as neighbors or who utilized the neighborhood’s relative walkability and transit advantages to get to work.

Saturday, the neighborhood even managed to roll with the cold punches and throw a snow party DJ party on icy Bobby Morris.Sunday, the weekly Capitol Hill Farmers Market is slated to go on as scheduled. More fun and shenanigans — mixed with sobering winter weather — is to come.

See something others should know about? Email CHS or call/txt (206) 399-5959.

 

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