Community Post

Central Snow Update

Could you believe the snow thunder this morning?  Possibly the loudest and longest-rumbling thunder I’ve ever heard in Seattle.

There appears to be a good 2-3 inches of snow on the ground now.  It’s piling up on side streets and looks to be compacted on the arterials. NWS says that the snow should end by 10am, but we’ve already gotten more than they expected so I’m not sure how much faith to put in that.

I’ll be heading out in a minute to get all the details with live updates.  In the meantime, here’s some morning resources:

Here’s our color-coded map that shows which local roads will be the first to become impassible. (you’ll want to stay away from the black diamond routes)

Bus schedules appear to be a disaster.  There’s a minimum of 15 minute delays on routes.  They’ve got a new page that will update you on any service changes.  And don’t forget to check out the details of your route here and see if it has a special winter weather route that change the stops.

Here’s the city’s priorities for plowing and sanding:

Dark Blue & Black: High Priority. Dashed: Low

 

Comment below on what you see an know. And upload your snow pics and videos here.

0 thoughts on “Central Snow Update

  1. Thanks for this excellent information — much better and more useful than any corporate media coverage. You’re doing a wonderful service. Reclaim the Media (www.reclaimthemedia.org) is based in the Central District — it would be fun sometime to do a community meeting about neighborhood blogging, bringing in some of the other ultra-local bloggers too (WestSeattle, BeaconHill, CapitolHill, etc.). susan (at) reclaimthemedia.org

  2. Yeah, the thunder was really cool. Our whole house shook! FYI, Union is closed west of 19th or 20th and I heard a rumor that Madison is as well. I had to park my car and then watched another car slide right into it :(

    It looked like one of the #2 buses was also stuck on Union so I’m not sure what is going on with their route today. This is the first time I’ve had a snow day in a long time!

  3. my wife left the house at 5 and made it to work just as the storm was brewing. The thunder rocked our house too. My son and I just walked up to Katy’s coffee shop. It’s beautifully peaceful without the traffic…we should have more snow days. Union is defintely shut down west of 19th. Hope everyone is safe, warm and enjoying this.

  4. I just spoke to some Metro drivers. A bus has been stuck at 22 and Yesler in front of the clinic all morning.

  5. say that they have two tow trucks and that often the buses get stuck on a hill when they stop at a light and usually need a little push to get going again.

  6. Reclaim the Media is in my community? You guys ROCK!!! I know of you from the liberal blogosphere, but did not know you are my neighbors. How fast can we undo the damage? Starting with busting up the media monopolies.

  7. that thunder was incredible! and sounded close! car alarms started up, so cool!

    it is gorgeous outside too. anyone know if vega is open?

  8. I have a friend trying to get a flight out of Denver right now. She’s able to log on and get these updates. Very helpful!!!!!

  9. krgl

    wife’s parents are stuck in denver. frontier flight? i am supposed to head to sea-tac. good idea, right?

  10. At 30th/Columbia and at Powell Barnett Park. Friendly folks, lots of sled sharing, neighbors sharing coco, kids, dogs, cross-country skis, a snow board, Rubbermade box lids…
    Yay snow!!

  11. For what it’s worth, Union is closed between 19th and 18th but not west of there. But, as others have noted, there’s a #2 bus in each direction stopped at the intersection of Union and 18th. Not going anywhere. (I like the Metro Web site: “#2 is operating on an unpublished route” First one to find it wins a prize.

  12. Good luck to you. Bring some skis … and yer dog. Friend’s united flight supposedly left Denver around2P central.

  13. I posted this link for family and friends. If you get around after it stops, please add to the slide show…

  14. I just walked up and back to Madison and MLK – very quiet. Some people out with dogs, or taking pix. Some people obviously headed over to Essential or Bella Dolce for food or coffee. A couple of cars doing OK driving on MLK, which is flat right there.

    I’ve heard from a friend who walked down from Madison at First Hill / Capitol Hill, that Madison is really icey, with buses jack knifed and cars slid to the curbs, parked all askew. Police are out at the top trying to stop people from driving down.

  15. I was also awakened this morning by the loudest thunder I have ever heard, followed by my window lighting up and immediate thunder. I could even hear the crackling of the lightning as it lit up my window! I live at 20th & Yesler.

  16. Ahhh, I was just walking home from work and there were some kids playing on the #4 bus that had been stopped on the hill of MLK & Judkins all morning. Just as my boyfriend was calling in to report it, the bus started sliding down the hill and onto MLK! It went all the way across MLK and stopped just before hitting a car. CRAZY. The kids got out and were okay, but dang, that was pretty stupid of them…

  17. Thank you, same here! Everyone says they love it, but in a dead sleep, I thought my house was falling over. My g/f and I couldn’t go back to sleep for about an hour. I only enjoyed the _second_ time after I was already awake. :)

  18. Thanks for posting this awesome map of the plow priorities. This helped us plan our routes more safely!