Tag Archives: snow

13,000 without power across Capitol Hill, Central District, and Madison Park — UPDATE: ‘Winter storm warning’ snow

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Thanks to a reader for this snowy overnight picture

UPDATE 11/30/2022 6:36 AM: Streets were reported bare but there were plenty of slushy sidewalks and gutters early Wednesday morning across Capitol Hill.

Rising temperatures should mean no more accumulating snow through the day with the forecast calling for a mix of rain and snow Wednesday night. Several power outages continue through the north of the city with small pockets without power in the area of North Capitol Hill.

Sorry, kids, no snow day. Seattle Public Schools in Central Seattle were fully operational.

King County Metro, meanwhile, has lifted its short-lived shift to snow routes in the central city. You can check the CHS Traffic Cams page to see conditions in the Broadway and Pike/Pine core.

UPDATE 12:45 AM: We’ve added a few pictures from snowy Volunteer Park to the post. City Light was reporting 81 active power outages in the city and several locations around the Hill and beyond reported utility wires for services like phone, internet, and cable television down from falling snow-laden branches. Around the Hill, wires were reported down at the 600 block of E Pine, 17th and Yesler, the 900 block of 20th Ave, 14th and Aloha, the 500 block of 17th Ave E, the 700 block of 22nd Ave E, and the 1000 block of Boylston Ave E.

UPDATE 11:00 PM: About an inch had accumulated at Capitol Hill’s highest points as snowfall outpaced predictions and the expected transition to warmer temperatures and rain failed to materialize late Tuesday night. Meanwhile, areas north of the city were being hit with heavy snow. The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning for the area with Capitol Hill falling right at the dividing line where rain was expected.

While temperatures are still expected to warm overnight, accumulations could persist and make for a slippery morning. Slippery streets were reportedly already claiming a few sliding and skidding cars on the Hill’s most most notorious steep routes like Denny Way. If it comes to it, stick to the city’s planned snow routes where plowing will take place if conditions warrant.
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Day 5 of Seattle cold and ice: more snow, more crashes, more slippery-er sidewalks

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People took street closures into their own hands near Interlaken (Image: CHS)

A fifth day of freezing temperatures added more than an inch of snow Thursday morning to the layer of packed powder and ice already covering Capitol Hill. At the top of the Hill, overnight snow piled up more than two inches. With the neighborhood already bunkered down due to the pandemic, many are able to stay inside and keep activities close to home. Not everybody is so lucky.

While the snow for the day is done, temperatures are predicted to barely rise above freezing Thursday before dropping again into the 20s along with forecasts for gusty winds. Saturday will bring the first 24-hour period with temperatures above freezing since Christmas — even then, the high is predicted to reach only the mid 30s. Temperatures will rise into the 30s and the low 40s in the next week but there is a chance of more, smaller bouts of snow that could snarl Seattle’s emergence from the holidays into the first days of 2022.

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Capitol Hill snow updates: coldest day in 23 years, frozen sidewalks and streets, grocery store reports, more snow?

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More powdery snow fell overnight in Monday morning as Capitol Hill remains encapsulated in snow and ice making getting around a slow and slippery proposition. There is likely more to come. While the official forecast from the National Weather Service remains conservative in its prediction, Seattle’s weather nerd community is getting excited. There will be more snow Wednesday night into Thursday morning. The NWS says somewhere around an inch. Seattle weather nerds? Well, they say more:

UPDATE 12/29/21 8:58 AM: Forecasters say the weather models have solidified on a prediction of around 1″ to 3″ of snow in Seattle starting Wednesday night into Thursday.

The Seattle area is already setting records after the Christmas weekend “two to four inches” storm left the city covered in powdery snow and shivering under sub-30 temperatures. Monday brought record low temperatures to the area including 17 F at Sea-Tac, the coldest here since November, 2010. The high temperature of 24 F — achieved as light snow began falling again Monday night — was also a record low making the day the coldest in the city in 23 years.

As for Sea-Tac, if the streets of Capitol Hill feel unusually quiet, many of your neighbors may still be out of town for the holidays. Seattle’s snowy, icy weather and its impacts at the airport, along with COVID-related staffing issues have helped snarl air traffic up and down the West Coast and across the country with delays and cancellations.

Closer to home, sidewalks around some commercial and residential buildings have been cleared while many have not making getting around increasingly treacherous as snow is packed into ice. Side streets are frozen and mostly uncleared. You’ll want to aim for the city’s “green and gold” snow clearance priority routes if you have to drive. Check the city’s winter weather response map for details.

The city says crews will continue “24/7 operations” as needed and SDOT is reporting that approximately 90% of Emerald and Gold routes are “bare and wet.” Continue reading →

‘Two to four inches’ — Capitol Hill Christmas weekend snow — UPDATES

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Check out the latest updates on the CHS Traffic Cams page

Bands of precipitation left behind “two to four inches” of snow across Capitol Hill and nearby neighborhoods Sunday morning with more expected to fall through the day.

Below freezing temperatures sealed the deal with Sunday’s high not expected to climb out of the 20s before dipping again into the low 20s and possibly the high teens by Monday morning. Precipitation will also drop off off however, with snowfall diminishing into the afternoon. The National Weather Service’s Winter Storm Warning is in effect until 3 PM.

UPDATE 12:50 PM: Alex Garland is exploring around Capitol Hill — we’ll feature a few of his updates here.

UPDATE 7:40 PM: A round of updates from local facilities and services like garbage and recycling sent out Sunday night indicate much of the city’s infrastructure will be shut down or limited Monday. Solid waste pickup will be postponed while facilities like the King County Superior Court and Municipal Court have announced they will remain closed Monday. Metro to shift bus service to the Emergency Snow Network starting Monday and reduce service to around 60 core routes “that the City of Seattle and other jurisdictions prioritized for snow and ice removal.”

Forecasts show the cold air will stay but the most likely chance for another day of new snow here won’t come until Thursday. Continue reading →

It won’t reach ‘Snowbruary’ proportions, but Seattle preparing for a snap of winter weather

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A Snowbruary 2021 scene

A snap of winter cold that is predicted to send lows next week into the teens could also bring Christmas snow around Seattle and atop Capitol Hill. City officials are preparing by opening emergency shelters and spreading the word about possible impacts to services during the holiday week.

Mayor Jenny Durkan and “city and regional storm preparedness leaders” are scheduled to hold a press conference Thursday afternoon “to ensure residents are prepared to navigate the potential impacts of any winter event.”

“City officials will be available to outline how Seattle residents can get ready now by signing up for emergency alerts, assembling preparedness kits for their households, and planning for backup resources in the event of a power outage,” an announcement on the effort reads. Continue reading →

Snowbruary 2021: Capitol Hill pictures and videos of snowiest day since 1969

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Many on Capitol Hill made a day of frolic and adventure while others did what they could to get by — and get around — in a snow-socked city Saturday as predictions for a major winter event played out. CHS has pictures and videos — plus images and videos you shared — from the day, below.

Light snow continued Sunday morning as eyes now turn toward a watch for a change in the weather from snow to, yes, Seattle, rain.  How that transition plays out will determine a lot about the week ahead with the city’s streets and sidewalks covered with icy snow. The city’s plowing efforts — check the Storm Response Map —  have scraped most main arteries and routes clear but sidewalks left to a patchwork effort of property owners and vigorous neighbors. Many businesses are open while some activities like the weekly Sunday Capitol Hill Farmers Market have been canceled.

Seattle’s official snowfall totals from Snowbruary 2021 have marked historic highs. At around 9 inches measured at Sea-Tac, the snowfall ranks as a top-12 event and the snowiest day in Seattle since 1969. Atop Capitol Hill, things got deeper with measurements near Volunteer Park showing 12 inches of powdery snow. Continue reading →

Snowbruary 2021: A Capitol Hill snow Saturday open thread

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9 inches near Miller Park (Image: CHS)

Capitol Hill got its predicted blanket of snow with overnight accumulations of up to nine inches in the neighborhood’s highest elevations.

Travel is possible with SDOT plows busy through the night on priority routes and Metro switching to snow routes while light rail keeps right on chugging — but why go anywhere, if you don’t have to, but for a walk?

Collisions and spinouts were reported overnight at 13th and Republican, multiple incidents at 19th and Madison, a problem spot at 7th and James, Summit and Belmont, and Pike and Boren — and probably lots of other places CHS hasn’t heard about yet.

Sidewalks are covered and powdery. Be careful as things get packed down and icy through the day. If you can, help clear a sidewalk. Continue reading →

Snowbruary 2021: Capitol Hill gets expected dusting, a few more inches likely to come — Plus: power outage, Broadway crash

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Thursday night’s predicted dusting of Seattle came with Capitol Hill receiving about a half inch of dry, tiny snowflakes overnight as the city’s snow expectations for the weekend are being scaled back. The appearance of even a thin layer of snow and ice brought along some havoc with a power outage leaving a few thousand customers in the dark and a flipped car in a crash on Broadway.

Need tips on how to get around and more? Here are a few things to know when it snows on Capitol Hill.

Now, let’s talk snow. The National Weather Service says the city will get its blanket but it won’t be especially thick with predictions of around four to six inches of snow starting Friday night into Saturday:

  • Friday — Snow, mainly after 11pm. Low around 26. Wind chill values between 17 and 22. East wind 8 to 13 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New snow accumulation of 2 to 4 inches possible. Continue reading →

A few things to know when it snows — ‘~5 to 15 inches’ — on Capitol Hill

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We could see the most snow on Capitol Hill since February 2019. Or things could fizzle like the last big snow warning for the city in January 2020. With the city braced for a rare round of potentially heavy — for Seattle —  snow and some forecasts predicting more than a foot on the ground by the weekend in the sea-level city, here are a few things to know.

While there is still a lot of room for uncertainty, the forecast models are beginning to agree on good odds for lighter snowfall in Seattle starting Thursday but an opportunity for much more significant totals over the weekend starting Friday night:

It is also possible that the snow will hold off entirely until Friday afternoon in the Seattle area if the first low ends up coming in near the southern end of model guidance. When will the heaviest snow hit? Friday afternoon to the south of Seattle and Friday evening in the Seattle area. The moderate to heavy snow will continue into Saturday morning.

Why are the meteorologists so amped up? “Total snowfall in Seattle could be anywhere from ~5 to 15 inches.” Stay tuned.

Unlike 2019’s Snowbruary with weeks of freezing temperatures, snow, and ice, whatever happens this time around will likely be short lived with temperatures predicted to bounce back into the 40s after the weekend for a slow thaw.

Meanwhile, February has become Seattle’s month for snow. “In the last decade in Seattle 58 inches of snow has fallen at the Seattle-Tacoma airport. More than half of it has occurred in February,” according to the National Weather Service.

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More Seattle snow? National Weather Service says ‘major changes’ coming

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UPDATE: DAY 3 — Overnight snow misses Seattle — UPDATE: Wednesday afternoon flurries

(Image: Alex Garland for CHS)

DAY 2 REPORT: It could be fitting that we haven’t given this Seattle ice storm a name yet — the most interesting days may be yet to come.

With area schools again on two-hour delays and an icy start to the morning underway, the National Weather Service said early Tuesday that the latest forecast information shows “major changes” coming and a possible burst of heavy snow around Seattle Tuesday night.

The level of uncertainty is high. What is known is that, after smaller snow showers through the day, a “a band of heavy snowfall is likely to develop over the Olympic Peninsula and Puget Sound this evening and move north into Canada overnight/Wednesday morning.” What is possible? Anywhere from 1″ to 6″ of snow here in Seattle if things shift even slightly in the hours following the Tuesday night commute: Continue reading →