November 2010

Power outages caused by the storm hit Three Tree Point and Maplewild Drive plus sporadic spots in Burien Monday night but have now been repaired. Now only six homes remain without power in the area.

The outages that had extended to the western shore of Lake Burien have been repaired too.

Other minor outages to the east have been reported this morning.

You can check on the status of power outages at this link.

http://www.seattle.gov/light/sysstat/

The five power outages that occurred on the West Seattle peninsula overnight have been repaired and only 18 remain as of 3:00 pm.

The first was in North Admiral between California Ave. and 46th s.w. and roughly Admiral Way and s.w. Stevens Street, then skips a block east/west and power is out between 47th and 48th s.w. and Admiral Way and s.w. Stevens. It affected 202 customers.

The second outage was between 41st s.w. and 42nd s.w. south of Hudson Street s.w. affecting 15 customers.

Number three is on Fairmount Avenue s.w. and Brook Ave. s.w affecting 21 homes.

Number fours was near the intersection of Ocean View Drive and 35th s.w. 104 homes are out then outages were also found in Seola Park and along Seola Beach Drive and at the corner where 35th Ave. s.w. turns to become Marine View Drive s.w.

Now back on is an area that affected 15 homes between 42nd Ave. s.w. and 41st Ave. s.w. near the Junction and s.w. Hudson Street.

You can check on the status of power outages at this link.

Press Release:
Due to unsafe driving and weather conditions, all schools and all facilities will be CLOSED on Tuesday, November 23.

This means that there will be NO SCHOOL for students and all activities are cancelled. In addition, the central office at the John Stanford Center is also closed.

We will closely monitor road conditions to make a decision regarding school schedules for Wednesday.

Press Release:
King County Metro Transit is keeping all buses in all areas on snow routes for Tuesday morning.

Buses will be crowded and significantly delayed, perhaps even worse than Monday, due to road conditions. If those conditions severely deteriorate overnight, Metro may have to cancel entire bus routes in the morning.

Most specific cancelations won't be known until 4:00 a.m. or later. All transit riders are advised to check Metro's Snow & Ice page before they travel.

Bus riders should visit www.kingcounty.gov/metro/snow for the most current status of Metro service before traveling on Tuesday. Online updates will begin at 4 a.m. If you do not have internet access, call Metro’s Customer Information Center at (206) 553-3000. Due to the volume of calls, there could be a wait on the phone lines.

Roads throughout the Metro service area are expected to be extremely icy and hazardous Monday evening and Tuesday morning. There are also many abandoned vehicles blocking the roadways.

Please be patient, and dress warmly for waiting outdoors. Returning to regular service will be evaluated again after the morning commute.

King County roadways have been hit hard by ice, snow, and winds creating challenging conditions. King County has all available snow plows or sand trucks clearing snow and treating icy roads.
There are also many abandoned vehicles blocking the streets. If possible, residents are encouraged to stay home,

King County Metro Transit is keeping buses in all areas on snow routes and buses are expected to be crowded and significantly delayed, perhaps even worse than Monday due to the road conditions.

If those conditions deteriorate, Metro may have to cancel entire bus routes in the morning. Bus riders should check www.kingcounty.gov/metro/snow for the most current status of Metro service before traveling Tuesday.

Due to weather conditions, all Seattle Public Schools and facilities are closed today. This means there is no school for students or staff and all activities will be canceled. .

Press Release:

The City of Seattle Emergency Operations Center (EOC) closes at 8 p.m. tonight and will reopen at 6 a.m. on Tuesday, November 23.

SDOT staff will be available to take calls at 5 a.m. at 206-396-3053.

For the morning commute, the City recommends that residents check online at http://www.metro.kingcounty.gov/ to take advantage of mass transit options. If it is necessary to drive, please plan extra time for the trip and be aware that icy conditions exist, including black ice.

Roadways currently closed include:
· The Alaskan Way Viaduct has reopened northbound; southbound it is open as far as 1st Ave. SDOT is working to reopen portions south of 1st Ave. within the next two hours.
· West Dravus Street between 20th and 27th Aves.
· Battery St. Tunnel southbound
· NE 5100 block of Latona Ave. N
· Denny Way between Melrose and Stewart Sts.
· 23rd Ave. E at E Alder St.
· Marion St. between 1st and 2nd Aves.

City Light reports scattered outages, primarily on Beacon Hill, affecting about 250 customers systemwide.

The Highline School District has decided to close all its schools Tuesday, Nov. 23 because of inclement weather. This is a change from an earlier report.
The Tukwila School District will open two hours late on Tuesday.
John F. Kennedy High School in Burien will be closed. Check www.kennedyhs.org for further updates.
Highline Community College and its Central Washington University branch in Des Moines are scheduled to be open Tuesday, beginning at 9 a.m.
Parents and students should monitor their school or district’s web site or tune into radio or TV reports for possible updates of this information.

Howling winds and sideways snow flurries did not deter Seattle Public Utility, Mortenson Construction and South Park community members from gathering at the future site of the new South Transfer Station (right next door to the existing one) to officially break ground for the project on Nov. 22.

The weather did, however, make for a very short ceremony.

For more background on the station, check out this story from the Herald on Nov. 11.

The $50 million waste transfer station is expected to be finished in June of 2012. The 140,500 sq. foot two-story building is designed to speed up private, city and business dump runs, provide a much improved facility for city workers and lessen noise and odor pollution as an enclosed building, according to project manager Henry Friedman of Seattle Public Utilities.

“This is the first time that the city has built a new transfer station since 1965,” Friedman said to the bundled up crowd, clutching hot tea and coffee. “It’s been in planning for over ten years and I’m so glad we made it to this point.”

Seattle's first snow storm of the season is coming to an end but there's more snow to come, according to the forecast.

Delays in commute were widespread throughout the day as cars were sliding and several accidents temporarily closed down lanes. Starting around 9 a.m. this morning, two car crashes blocked Aurora Bridge and traffic was backed up for about two hours. As snow continued to fall, accidents and slippery conditions on Highway 520 and Highway 99 slowed traffic in the afternoon and Interstate 5 was in gridlock.

Middle schools and high schools in the Seattle School District were dismissed in the early afternoon and all extracurricular activities as well as parent-teacher conferences were canceled.

Another round of snow is moving into the Seattle area this evening, and another 2-5 inches of snow are possible. Wind gusts of up to 40 mph are also expected.

Winter Storm Warnings remain in effect for Western Washington, including the greater Seattle Metro area until 10 p.m. tonight.

Travelers should expect low visibility and potentially slick roads.

A power outage has occurred just east of 35th s.w. affecting 15 homes.
The outage is around 34th Ave. s.w. from Hinds Street s.w. to City View street s.w.

No cause was cited and restoration of power is pending.