Beach Drive Blog

Wind Advisory until Midnight

This from the National Weather Service: 

Tonight: Rain. Low around 41. Breezy, with a south southwest wind between 24 and 28 mph, with gusts as high as 49 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%.

Wednesday: Showers. High near 47. South southwest wind 8 to 11 mph increasing to between 17 and 20 mph. Winds could gust as high as 33 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%.

Tides are heading down from a high tidee of 10.6 at 5:01 tonight to a -0.7 at 11:36 tonight and back up to a 12.5 at 6:38 Wednesday morning.

Puget Sound Marine Forecast:

...GALE WARNING IN EFFECT...

REST OF THE AFTERNOON...SE WIND 15 TO 25 KT BECOMING S 25 TO 35 KT. WIND WAVES 3 TO 6 FT. RAIN.

TONIGHT...SW WIND 25 TO 35 KT. WIND WAVES 3 TO 6 FT. RAIN TURNING TO SHOWERS.

WED...SW WIND 15 TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT. SHOWERS.

 

Another wind storm coming Sunday

Weather forecast can and do change.  At 4:30 this morning, we issued a "barking dog" report which basically means that we're preparing to possibly flood or lose power because of high winds, tides and waves slurping over the bulkhead.  A "barking dog" would be like your neighbors friendly retreiver who howls when he thinks something may be wrong - sometimes he's right, sometimes not...but always on the lookout with best intentions. 

We indeed have water coming over our bulkhead and thankfully have a back-up pump since the first one failed.  

This photo is of our neighbors patio where the waves knocked some of the brick pavers out.

 

 

Our next high tides are an 11.3 at 2:25 this afternoon and a 12.3 at 5:08 Sunday morning followed by a 11.2 at 3:20 pm Sunday afternoon.

Here's what the NWS has now:

Today: A 40 percent chance of showers. Cloudy, with a high near 46. Breezy, with a south southwest wind around 28 mph, with gusts as high as 44 mph. 

Tonight: Showers likely, mainly after 4am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 39. Breezy, with a south southwest wind between 14 and 22 mph, with gusts as high as 33 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%.

Sunday: Rain. High near 46. Southeast wind between 10 and 13 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%.

Sunday Night: Rain. Low around 40. Windy, with a south southeast wind 18 to 21 mph increasing to between 28 and 31 mph. Winds could gust as high as 55 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%.

Monday: Showers likely. Cloudy, with a high near 44. South southwest wind between 17 and 20 mph, with gusts as high as 31 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%

Seattle area forecast via UW:

TODAY...WINDY THIS MORNING. SHOWERS. HIGHS IN THE 40S. SOUTH WIND 20 TO 30 MPH EASING TO SOUTHWEST 15 TO 25 MPH IN THE AFTERNOON.

TONIGHT...MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF RAIN SHOWERS. LOWS IN THE MID 30S TO LOWER 40S. SOUTH WIND 10 TO 20 MPH.

SUNDAY...RAIN LIKELY IN THE MORNING...THEN RAIN AT TIMES IN THE AFTERNOON. HIGHS IN THE 40S. SOUTHEAST WIND 10 TO 20 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 30 MPH.

SUNDAY NIGHT...WINDY. RAIN AT TIMES. LOWS IN THE MID 30S TO LOWER 40S. SOUTHEAST WIND 10 TO 20 MPH BECOMING SOUTH 15 TO 30 MPH AFTER MIDNIGHT.

 

Puget Sound Marine Forecast:

...GALE WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL 4 PM PST THIS AFTERNOON...

TODAY...SW WIND 25 TO 35 KT...EASING IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 3 TO 6 FT...SUBSIDING. SHOWERS.

TONIGHT...SW WIND 15 TO 25 KT...EASING AND BECOMING S AFTER MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT...SUBSIDING. A CHANCE OF SHOWERS.

SUN...SE WIND RISING TO 15 TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES BUILDING TO 2 TO 4 FT. RAIN.

SUN NIGHT...S WIND RISING TO 25 TO 35 KT. WIND WAVES BUILDING TO 3 TO 6 FT.

We hope you stay warm and safe!

BARKING DOG REPORT: WIND AND WAVES

 

It's been a while since we've issued a barking dog report - I'll explain more later. Right now we're dealing with extreme wind at high tide causing water to slosh over the bulkhead. This is the type of situation where neighbors may experience flooding - especially if we lose power.  The following is what info we have as of 4:00 am (at the time of publishing this post):

WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 10 AM.

National Weather Service:

Today: Showers, mainly before 10am. High near 46. Windy, with a south southwest wind between 28 and 34 mph, with gusts as high as 55 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%.

Tonight: Showers likely, mainly after 4am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 39. Breezy, with a south southwest wind between 14 and 22 mph, with gusts as high as 33 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%.

Marine Forecast:

...GALE WARNING IN EFFECT THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON...

TODAY...SW WIND 25 TO 35 KT...EASING IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 3 TO 6 FT...SUBSIDING. SHOWERS.

TONIGHT...SW WIND 15 TO 25 KT...EASING AND BECOMING S AFTER MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 4 FT...SUBSIDING. A CHANCE OF SHOWERS.

SUN...SE WIND RISING TO 15 TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES BUILDING TO 2 TO 4 FT. RAIN.

SUN NIGHT...S WIND RISING TO 25 TO 35 KT. WIND WAVES BUILDING TO 3 TO 6 FT.

UPDATE 5:35 am: just noticed NWS has "gusts as high as 55 mph" through Sunday.

Sunday: Rain. High near 46. Southeast wind between 10 and 13 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%.

Sunday Night: Rain. Low around 40. Windy, with a south southeast wind 18 to 21 mph increasing to between 28 and 31 mph. Winds could gust as high as 55 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%.

TIDES:

Saturday, January 21:

• 4:30 am at 11.9
• 9:37 am at 7.4
• 2:25 pm at 11.3
• 9:30 pm at -2.0

Sunday, January 22;

• 5:08 am at 12.3
• 10:28 am at 6.9
• 3:20 pm at 11.2
• 10:14 pm at -1.9

 

From round 1:

First snow and ice. What's next? WIND with High Tides

This morning the snow is melting and Beach Drive around Jacobson seems clear, wet and slushy.  

 

What's next? Why strong winds, of course!

NWS for West Seattle area:

Today: Occasional snow and freezing drizzle before 10am, then rain. Snow level 200 feet rising to 3700 feet. High near 40. East northeast wind 6 to 11 mph becoming south southeast. Chance of precipitation is 100%. Little or no ice accumulation expected. Total daytime snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible. 

Tonight: Rain. Low around 40. Southeast wind around 16 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%.

Saturday: Showers likely, mainly before 10am. Cloudy, with a high near 46. Windy, with a southwest wind between 21 and 30 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%.

Saturday Night: A 40 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 40. Southwest wind between 11 and 14 mph. 

Sunday: Rain. High near 45. South southeast wind around 14 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90% 

City of Seattle and vincinity:

...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 AM PST THIS MORNING...

TODAY...OCCASIONAL LIGHT FREEZING DRIZZLE OR SNOW IN THE MORNING...THEN RAIN IN THE AFTERNOON. NO SNOW ACCUMULATION. ADDITIONAL ICE ACCUMULATIONS OF A TENTH OF INCH OR LESS. HIGHS NEAR 40. LIGHT WIND BECOMING SOUTHEAST 10 TO 20 MPH IN THE AFTERNOON.

TONIGHT...BECOMING WINDY...RAIN. LOWS NEAR 40. SOUTHEAST WIND 10 TO 20 MPH BECOMING SOUTH 20 TO 30 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 40 MPH LATE.

SATURDAY...WINDY. RAIN IN THE MORNING...THEN CLOUDY WITH SCATTERED RAIN SHOWERS IN THE AFTERNOON. HIGHS IN THE 40S. SOUTHWEST WIND 20 TO 30 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 40 MPH.

SATURDAY NIGHT...MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF RAIN SHOWERS. LOWS IN THE MID 30S TO LOWER 40S. SOUTH WIND 10 TO 15 MPH.

SUNDAY...RAIN. HIGHS IN THE LOWER TO MID 40S. SOUTHEAST WIND 10 TO 20 MPH.

SUNDAY NIGHT...RAIN. LOWS IN THE MID TO UPPER 30S.

Puget Sound Marine Forecast:

...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM NOON PST TODAY THROUGH SATURDAY AFTERNOON...

TODAY...NE WIND 5 TO 10 KT...BECOMING SE AND RISING TO 15 TO 25 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 1 FT...BUILDING TO 2 TO 4 FT IN THE AFTERNOON. RAIN.

TONIGHT...SE WIND 15 TO 25 KT...BECOMING S 20 TO 30 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 5 FT. RAIN.

SAT...SW WIND 20 TO 30 KT. WIND WAVES 3 TO 5 FT. A CHANCE OF RAIN IN THE MORNING...THEN RAIN IN THE AFTERNOON.

SAT NIGHT...S WIND 15 TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT.

SUN...SE WIND 15 TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT.

SUN NIGHT...S WIND 15 TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT.

MON...S WIND 15 TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT.

Seattle area tides: 

Friday, January 20:

• 1:27 pm at 11.4 
• 8:42 pm at  -1.8 

Saturday, January 21:

• 4:30 am at 11.9
• 9:37 am at 7.4
• 2:25 pm at 11.3
• 9:30 pm at -2.0

Sunday, January 22;

• 5:08 am at 12.3
• 10:28 am at 6.9
• 3:20 pm at 11.2
• 10:14 pm at -1.9

Still reading? Here are some photos from a walk Scupper and I took yesterday in the snow along Beach Drive. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

King County's Public Health Dept. wants to make sure you stay safe during the storm

King County's Public Health Department is reaching out to communtiy bloggers asking for this information to be shared:  Download Blog post_1 19 12

Staying safe in the storm                                       

Winter weather is causing power outages. Here’s some important information to help you, your family, friends, and neighbors stay safe. 

Carbon monoxide warnings

Carbon monoxide poisoning can kill you. Carbon monoxide gas comes from burning fuels such as gasoline, propane, oil, kerosene, natural gas, coal or wood. You can’t see or smell it.

Prevent poisoning from carbon monoxide:

• Only use a generator outdoors and far from open windows and vents
• Never use a generator or portable propane heater indoors, in garages or carports
• Never cook or heat inside on a charcoal or gas grill.

Carbon monoxide poisoning can happen suddenly and without warning. Physical symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning may include splitting headache, nausea and vomiting, and lethargy and fatigue.

If you believe you could be experiencing carbon monoxide poisoning, get fresh air immediately. Call for medical help from a neighbor's home. The Fire Department will tell you when it is safe to reenter the home.

For a full list of carbon monoxide prevention tips and other safety and disaster information in English and other languages, visit www.kingcounty.gov/health/disaster.

Staying warm indoors safely

If you have a power outage, use safe ways to stay warm:

• Find places where you can go to get warm, such as the home of friends and family whose homes have power. Many cities have opened centers where people can go during the day to stay warm. Center locations can be found at http://www.kingcounty.gov/safety/prepare
• Wear several layers of light weight, warm clothing rather than one layer of heavy clothing. Wear hats, mittens, and blankets indoors.
• Close curtains and cover windows and doors with blankets. Everyone should try to stay together in one room, with the door closed, to keep in body heat.

Help others

• Warn others about carbon monoxide poisoning. Share the information with neighbors, friends, family and community groups.

• Check on family, friends, and neighbors, especially if they are elderly or if you think their power might be out. 

• If you know someone who has lost electricity, invite them to your home to stay warm.

 

Food Safety

If power goes out where you live, keep food safe by keeping the doors closed on your refrigerators and freezers as much as possible. A full freezer can stay at freezing temperatures about two days; a half-full freezer about 1 day. Potentially hazardous foods, like meat and fish, should be discarded if thawed and warmer than 41 degrees F.  

Winter Storm Warning through Wednesday

This morning could be a good time to make sure your generator is working!  I just heard local news media say "we could get a foot of snow at sea level tomorrow".

Here is the forecast for the Seattle area. I'm concerned about the WIND combined with the snow.

...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 4 PM PST THIS AFTERNOON...

...WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM MIDNIGHT TONIGHT TO MIDNIGHT PST WEDNESDAY NIGHT...

TODAY...SNOW SHOWERS. SNOW ACCUMULATION OF 1 TO 2 INCHES. HIGHS IN THE 30S. SOUTHWEST WIND 10 TO 20 MPH.

TONIGHT...SNOW SHOWERS ENDING IN THE EVENING. SNOW DEVELOPING LATE. SNOW ACCUMULATION OF 1 TO 2 INCHES. LOWS IN THE MID 20S TO LOWER 30S. NORTHEAST WIND 5 TO 15 MPH.

WEDNESDAY...SNOW...HEAVY AT TIMES. BECOMING WINDY. SNOW ACCUMULATION OF 5 TO 9 INCHES. HIGHS IN THE LOWER 30S. NORTH WIND 10 TO 15 MPH INCREASING TO 20 TO 30 MPH IN THE AFTERNOON.

WEDNESDAY NIGHT...WINDY...SNOW. LOWS IN THE MID 20S TO LOWER 30S. NORTH WIND 20 TO 30 MPH BECOMING NORTHEAST 10 TO 15 MPH AFTER MIDNIGHT.

THURSDAY...SNOW CHANGING TO RAIN. HIGHS IN THE MID AND UPPER 30S. NORTH WIND 10 TO 20 MPH.

Puget Sound Marine Forecast

...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL NOON PST TODAY...

TODAY...SW WIND 15 TO 25 KT...BECOMING NW 5 TO 15 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. OVER THE N SOUND...NW WIND 5 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT...SUBSIDING TO 1 TO 2 FT IN THE AFTERNOON. SHOWERS.

TONIGHT...NE WIND 5 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. RAIN IN THE EVENING. SNOW.

WED...N WIND 20 TO 30 KT. WIND WAVES 3 TO 5 FT. SNOW.

WED NIGHT...N WIND 20 TO 30 KT...EASING TO 5 TO 15 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 3 TO 5 FT...SUBSIDING TO 2 FT OR LESS.

THU...N WIND 10 TO 20 KT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT.

THU NIGHT...SE WIND 5 TO 10 KT. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS.

Tides via NOAA:

 

 

 

We have considerable high tides that when combined with wind in the forecast, could be concerning.

 

SNOW

 

The NWS has issued a winter weather advisory that will be in effect until 10pm tonight. We have snow mentioned in the forecast through Wednesday!  

Do you have photos of the snow you'd like to share? Post them on our Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/beachdriveblog

Update: here are some more photos from this afternoon around 2:30pm.

 

 

 

Vashon with snow.

 

 

Emma Schmitz View Point

Concerned Beach Drive resident hounds City to repair eroding park

Gotta love our Beach Drive neighbor that's responsible for prompting today's repair work along the vulnerable section of Emma Schmitz Memorial View Point.

It's been very noticeable for all who frequent this narrow sliver of park that the soil has been slowly eroding away year after year just above the concrete sea wall. 

This "super neighbor" (who prefers to be un-named but for this article's sake, we'll refer to her as Mrs. Frack) started her interaction with the City of Seattle back in the middle of December. She quickly learned that the responsibility of maintaining the bulkhead and adjoining landscape belongs to the Seattle Parks Department, the sizable sewer line located directly underneath is responsibility of King County and the City of Seattle maintains the adjoining sidewalk and newly paved street:) 

When a more permanent type of solution was brought up, i.e. extending the existing bulkhead type rockery located just north of where the park narrows, a representative from the parks department replied...

"any change to the existing seawall would need to be done with the approval of various environmental regulatory agencies. Note that extending the existing "bulkhead rockery", while perhaps the lowest-cost construction solution that could be pursued, is also a measure that is considered environmentally detrimental by such agencies, and might be difficult or impossible to get approved."

Well, for now, I'm happy for the temporary maintenance to this narrow section of the park and ecstatic that when Mrs. Frack locks on to a cause, there's just no saying no! 

Hmmm, I wonder if she had something to do with these public work orders... 

Scupper, reporting for Beach Drive Blog

Blue Heron on our Chimney

Orcas off Beach Drive

We were away from home when this pod swam by Mee Kwa Mooks towards Alki.

Just learned about this via Lisa Wallace Baker on Facebook - thanks, Lisa!

Did you see the Orcas?