11 p.m. A dramatic scene at 46th and Phinney just after 10 p.m. when a car bursts into flames. “A passer-by smashed driver window to check for occupants. Fire was well under way at this time,” wrote Andrew in an email with this photo.
“Was burning for around 10 minutes before the fire department arrived,” he said. There’s no report of any injuries.
10 p.m. What a night. We’ve heard from several drivers who said it took as long as two to three hours to drive home to Ballard from downtown Seattle. Even at this late hour, the Washington State Patrol says “it’s horrible gridlock out there” on some of the major freeways — I-5 at Lake City Way is a problem spot — and with a 25 degree temperature, ice has formed on many roadways. Seattle Police reported as many as 200 metro buses are stuck. And keep in mind, SDOT doesn’t clear the side streets, so be careful.
Bergen Place photographed late tonight by Emily
And the morning commute won’t be any better. High temperatures on Tuesday are expected to stay in the 20s, so the ice (unless SDOT is able to spread salt on it) will still be slippery as ever. SDOT says it will be working on the major routes throughout the night, but the advice from many officials is clear: stay home. We’ll have updates beginning early in the morning.
Cassandra sent us this video of snow tonight in the Adams area:
8:25 p.m. All Seattle public schools will be closed tomorrow.
7:05 p.m. Temperatures plunged this afternoon (27 degrees at last check) and the wind kicked up, creating icy roadways and grinding the evening commute to a halt. My Ballard reader Silver reports sheets of snow blowing off the roof of both the Ballard Market and Grease Monkey as seen in the video below (be sure to turn your volume down before watching).
It goes without saying — driving conditions are dangerous. Ballard’s top two danger spots typically are Market St. up to Fremont and that little dip down 85th to Aurora Ave. — no word on actual conditions there, so if you’ve just driven it, please leave a comment below. Conditions are often dependent on whether SDOT trucks have been able to make a recent run.
Meanwhile, our sister sites Queen Anne View, Magnolia Voice and My Wallingford are all reporting (with photos) traffic troubles there. Cars are slipping and sliding.
SDOT trucks hitting I-5 in the University District just after 6:30 p.m.
Elsewhere, the Viaduct has been closed due to ice, along with the Battery St. tunnel. There are accidents along I-5 in North Seattle, and earlier, along a slick Aurora Bridge. The West Seattle Bridge is all but stopped. SDOT is operating 22 trucks with salt and plows, and four with liquid brine. Here’s our page of Ballard-area traffic cameras. And you can follow SDOT traffic updates on Twitter here and WSDOT here.
3 p.m. Forecasters say the next couple of hours will bring us the most intense snow before things finally calm down. The wind isn’t helping things. The Seattle Parks department is closing all community centers programs scheduled after 6pm as well as all athletic fields.
Photo of St. Alphonsus playground from Kristen
1 p.m. Our intern Tyler Steele came across a crash in Crown Hill this morning. A couple tells Tyler they were building a snowman in their driveway when they heard a car slam into the tree across from their duplex at 9520 Holman Rd. N.W., right on the corner of 9th Ave. N.W.
“We heard the aftermath—sliding, it hitting the pole and then finally hitting the tree,” said Erin Haven.
Three cars were involved in the crash. Sok Khann, who got tangled up in the wreck, said “I was in the far right lane, heading up the hill on 9th Ave. N.W., parallel to the driver that got hit first—pushing him into me. After that, he ended up in the tree.”
He added that everyone walked away from the crash without any visible injuries.
12:45pm The community meeting on changes to the Seattle Public Schools student assignment plan that was set for tonight at Ingraham High School is canceled due to the weather.
12:30 p.m. A new forecast from the National Weather Service says most the snow will move in before 7 p.m. tonight for total possible accumulation of 2-4 inches. As much as another 1-2 inches tonight. Complicating matters will be winds with gusts as high as 40 miles per hour. Stay safe out there!
10:45 a.m. We’re adding some new photos taken about 10 this morning in downtown Ballard where streets are bare and wet. Bergen Place, the Ballard library, and Ballard Commons Park only have a dusting of snow. In fact, it’s tough to even make a decent snowball. No problems at all on the Ballard Bridge and 15th Ave into downtown is totally clear.
Bergen Place
Ballard library
Ballard Commons Park
10 a.m. The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning for Seattle until 10 p.m. tonight. Forecasters say more snow is on the way this afternoon, along with high wind gusts.
Photo of 9th Ave. NW in East Ballard by Sean
The biggest traffic trouble spot right now is the Aurora Bridge, which is covered with ice. There have been two accidents so far (photo). SDOT says it has deployed its snow plows “to patrol snow routes and treat problem spots.” If you’re wondering what the main thoroughfares look like, make sure to check out this page with all the Ballard-area traffic cams.
SDOT camera at 15th and Market (refresh to see updates every couple minutes)
Forecasters say this is just the first wave. This afternoon, more snow is expected that could leave a total of 1-3 inches of total accumulation.
Traffic camera at 85th and Market
As we mentioned last night, Metro buses are on snow routes today.
5:55 a.m. from Seattle Public Schools:
Today middle and high schools will start at the regular time, but will dismiss early at 12:35 p.m. This is due to the fact that snow is expected later in the afternoon. The elementary and K-8 Parent-Teacher conferences will proceed today as planned.
And here’s the latest forecast from the National Weather Service:
Cloudy with snow flurries this morning. Snow at times this afternoon. Snow accumulation 1 to 3 inches. Becoming windy. North wind 10 to 15 MPH increasing to 20 to 30 MPH this afternoon. Temperatures near 30.
Check the forum for reports from many Ballardites. Have updates of your own? Post them in comments below, and send us photos to tips@myballard.com.
Snowpocalypse!
Snowmageddon!
….what is about Seattlieits that half an inch of snow or some rain and they drive like morons? They can’t all be Californians.
Nope, I was born here. I think it’s that
A. we almost never get any snow, and
B. we live in a city built upon ridges and hills, so
C. we have no experience driving in snow on hills.
I saw one car that hit a tree on Holman. I have a Jeep and I know what I can and shouldn’t do. I learned to drive in Iceland. It’s the idiots that think they can get somewhere, than start sliding and panic that scare me. It’s going to be a mess tonight.
this.
I’m more concerned about the roads tomorrow when all that moisture becomes ice. Yuck.
….and yet the town is surrounded by snow covered hills and mountains.
yeah we shoulda regraded them like Denny! This all has made me wonder what San Fran does if/when it ever snows there. They must have similar issues?
they claim all of this lack of experience and lack of city assistance in handling the roads and yet refuse to leave their cars at home or to even stay home themselves.
D. despite all of the above, refuse to leave the car behind
…They mostly do this to annoy you. And it’s working!
IIIMIP
Ahem.
Haven’t. Left. The. Apartment. All. Day.
So. There.
An awful lot of people drive like morons everyday, and snow doesn’t deter them one iota. A lot of it comes down to maturity, judgement, and good sense. I doubt if anyone thinks he or she is lacking in those qualities, and the bad drivers all think others are the culprits. Just look at what they do though; any professional, e.g. bus drivers, can tell you that they see insane stunts pulled everyday. Lots of drivers are impatient and impetuous, they speed, tailgate, crowd, and try to pass inapropriately. Some are pusilanimous and hold up the whole parade making the rambunctious ones behind them even more aggressive. And of course what America is all about these days is Me. I was in a 7-11 store up on Capitol Hill and a young white guy came in and started talking loudly I…, I…, ….I…., and gesticulating excitedly; and, an older black gentilman said to him softly, You.
When is the last time it snowed in SF? I lived down there for 6 years and never saw even a flake – warmer average temperatures and more temperated sitting right on that bay.
don’t drive to the gym tomorrow!
I’ll just bust out my cross-country skis
That moisture is supposed to become ice much sooner than tomorrow.
Where are the deicers keeping the highways clear? This is just day 1 and it’s already a big mess on the news. I don’t even want to think what will happen when we actually hit winter this year. Oy vey.
You’d actually have to have a job to leave right?
Just wait until power goes out. Yay!
I say barely whine is a closet californian
sssshhhhhhhush ! don’t encourage Mother Nature…
Overall Seattle is a confusing city to navigate. Over the years Seattle has very much so become a transient city with all the boeing, microsoft, nintendo, starbucks and biotech jobs always shifting and changing employees. This makes it very hard for many people to navigate this city succesfully. Add to the mix the rare circumstance we have here with a good amount of precip followed by sub zero temperatures and we have the current situation. People who live in the northwest should have, at minimum, winter tires on their vehicle. I am strongly against studded tires because of how terrible they are for long term longeivity of the asphalt and the reduced effective stopping distance. With that said EVERYONE should have a set of chains in their vehicle at all times. they’re pretty cheap, easy to store, easy to put on and basically are the difference between effectively navigating the city in these conditions and being called a “moron” or “californian” by people on this comment thread.
it snowed in SF last year
No School!
85th West of Aurora has compact snow – not much traffic and the cars did not seem to be having problems – compact snow on the roadway but still loose – no I did not drive it I walked the one block and looked –
This. I called in this morning when there was a half-inch because I knew that while I may be able to get in, getting out was going to be a whole ‘nother story. And here we are, at 9:00PM, and I still have friends and coworkers trying to get home.
Seriously, folks. Take today as a lesson, and stay home tomorrow. The roads will be covered in ice, and there’s no reason to chance it. Stay in, go sledding, and have a hot drink or two with your friends and family instead. Above all, stay safe! :)
It took me 3 hours & 15 minutes to get from downtown to Ballard on the 15 today! The buses sucked!
huh?
I asked one friend who commutes from Georgetown to Puyallup to keep me updated on when she got home. She left at 4:00pm. She’s still on the freeway.
not a genius move to stay that far south that late considering south is the one place they came close with the forecast.
I insisted she stay with me in Ballard for the night… Unfortunately, like so many others, she thought she could make it home. She’s only 5.5 miles from her destination, and it could be another hour before she reaches it.
Nice coverage throughout the day! Thanks for job well done.
Told hubby to work from home or downtown instead of Bellevue today. So glad. It took his brother 3 hours to get to Belltown from Bellevue. I’ve lived in the PNW for almost 20 years (from NY originally). I just stay home or travel on foot. Don’t know why so many people think “I can make it; it won’t be that bad.” ??
It took me 3 hours to pick up my husband from his ship at Pier 91! I-5 was a nightmare of big rigs sideways, idiot drivers who spun out thinking that we were all going too slow for them, etc! I live in Lake City and went through Ballard to get home! Ballard was the safest and fastest way… and prettier, too! The falling snow was really gorgeous to see.
It’s snowed almost every year for as long as I’ve lived here so the “we almost never get any snow” excuse from the natives really doesn’t cut it with me.
Boston is very hilly (ever hear of Bunker HILL??) as is most of New England. People cope with it just fine for the most part.
My commute was a nightmare…left my desk at 5.55 pm and was in the dining room read for dinner by 6pm. Took a little long because I stopped to take a p*ss in my bathroom on the way.
Life as a knowledge worker!