9:23 AM: Thanks to everyone who’s sent photos from the aftermath of this morning’s burst of wind. First, the strong wind was relatively brief but brought down trees and limbs. The photo above is from 41st/Thistle, sent by Guillaume Wiatr. And Bill Schrier in Admiral reports a downed tree limbs block SW Holgate street 4500 block and 46th SW at SW Holgate:

Next photo is from an anonymous reader, along 42nd between Juneau & Findlay.

No injuries or major power outages reported so far. There’s been no wind alert, either, but the forecast for Tuesday night warns of gusts above 40 mph.

ADDED 11:09 AM: This photo was just tweeted from the same stretch of 42nd SW shown above:

Also, as noted in this comment, there’s an unmapped power outage several blocks east of there along 37th SW. RB also tells us via email that the neighborhood is on an “old 4KV feeder” that SCL has confirmed won’t show up on the outage map – and they’ve been pushing for an upgrade “for years.” Meantime, Waikikigirl sent this photo from North Shorewood:

She reports, “Huge tree down on 26th Ave SW Southbound between 110th and 114th.”

ADDED 3:51 PM: From L’Nayim:

Dog owners should take note that a huge tree took out a portion of the fence at Westcrest dog park.

9:40 PM: Update from 41st and Thistle – the street’s been cleared by city crews working into the evening. Also of note, Susan Romanenghi sent this photo of a downed tree across the Lincoln Park north path:

That was at midday; we don’t know if it’s since been cleared.

Though the tide tables showed the 8:40 am “king tide” this morning would be slightly lower than yesterday, with the atmospheric conditions, the tide instead rose higher. The first three photos are from Deb Holbrook – above, the Alki Bathhouse, below, Statue of Liberty Plaza and the completely swamped beach:

(added) Also from Alki, Zach Wolpa‘s photo shows the west end of the promenade:

(added) And one more Alki view, from David Hutchinson, also showing how the water reached to the edge of the trail:

At Fauntleroy, as Elizabeth pointed out in her note with the photo below, this tide is a reminder of why the ferry dock needs to be higher when rebuilt (as is part of Washington State Ferries‘ plan):

She also sent this photo from the mouth of Fauntleroy Creek:

(added)Paulette‘s photo shows a logjam against the south side of the ferry dock:

As shown here, high tide was at least two feet higher than expected.

ADDED 11 AM: Doug Eglington sent this view of Don Armeni Boat Ramp:

Thanks again to everyone who’s sent photos! (westseattleblog@gmail.com or text 206-293-6302)

(Photo by Hana Alishio)

Merry Christmas! Happy 8th night of Hanukkah! Here’s some info we hope will be helpful on this holiday:

LOW BRIDGE: Still closed by mechanical problems as of early today – check the camera for changes.

BUSES:Metro‘s on the Sunday schedule.

WATER TAXI: Not running today.

FERRIES:12:55 pm update – after a service-reduction alert earlier, WSF now says “The Fauntleroy Vashon-Southworth route will continue to operate on the regular schedule today.”

MORE TRANSPORTATION NOTES: No charge for street parking in areas of the city with pay stations … West Seattle-relevant traffic cameras are here; see all cameras citywide via this map.

NO WEST SEATTLE FARMERS’ MARKET: Taking Christmas off, but it will be back next Sunday (New Year’s Day).

COFFEE SHOPS OPEN TODAY: We found six – here’s the list.

RESTAURANTS AND BARS OPEN TODAY:Eight Eleven are on our list – see it here. (5:08 pm update – just added three more!)

GROCERY STORES OPEN TODAY: Again this year, only the three Safeways (Roxbury, Admiral, Jefferson Square) are open (8 am-5 pm) – all other West Seattle grocery stores are closed until tomorrow.

CHURCH SERVICES TODAY: Nine of the churches on our list have Christmas Day services.

OTHER NOTES:Seattle Parks closure info is here … Libraries (city and county) are closed.

AFTERNOON BIRD/NATURE WALK: 1 pm at Lincoln Park – details are in our calendar listing.

SEE A MOVIE: The Admiral Theater (2343 California SW) is open this afternoon/evening.

If you see/hear news, please text/call 206-293-6302 – we appreciate your tips 24/7/365!

2:24 PM We’re launching our pm coverage with another photo of another West Seattle hill littered with vehicles whose drivers were thwarted by ice – the texter reports, “Lander St west of Admiral has several vehicles that have had to be abandoned, including an EMT vehicle. Please do not attempt to drive down closed roads!” We showed several other trouble spots in our first report on this icy day. The other big news right now – Metro just announced that service will resume at 4 pm, with Emergency Snow Network routing. Plus, the temperature’s finally risen to freezing. Carrying over our lists from earlier:

CLOSED/CANCELED SERVICES
-Low bridge closed for ‘mechanical issues’ (see 9:03 pm update below)
-All Metro bus service has resumed with Emergency Snow Network routes only until 4 am Saturday
–King County Water Taxi service CANCELED for reset of day
–Update: Sea-Tac (SEA) operations now has 2 of 3 runways open
–All Seattle Public Library locations closed
–West Seattle Food Bank closed
–West Seattle/Fauntleroy YMCA closed
–ArtsWest closing performance of “Q Brothers Christmas Carol” canceled
-Business closures/changes – see the list here
*Garbage/recycling/etc. canceled again today – no pickups until next week

OTHER INFOLINKS
–Winter Storm Warning until 7 pm
–SDOT Winter Weather Response map (which roads it’s serviced and how recently)
–Citywide traffic cams
–West Seattle traffic cams
–County traffic cams (choose “south” tab for White Center)
–Washington State Ferries alerts

Updates to come. Info and photos appreciated – westseattleblog@gmail.com or (text) 206-293-6302 – thank you!

3 PM: That’s the SDOT camera at California/Alaska, which a few people pointed out was aimed in an almost unrecognizable direction earlier. SDOT has aimed it back at the heart of Walk-All-Ways. Speaking of The Junction, a mail truck got into trouble on the north edge, SW Genesee east of 42nd:

On the other side of the mail truck is a multiple-vehicle icy-hill pileup. (Thanks to Viacheslav for the photo, and thanks to everyone who’s been sending photos – got some non-crash ones to add a bit later too.)

4:09 PM: The thaw is on! We can hear ice sliding off some of the shrubs and trees outside. So let’s look at a beauty shot – this is from Michelle R-R:

Also of note – Sea-Tac/SEA has announced that two of its three runways are now open. … Added to the list above, ArtsWest has canceled tonight’s closing performance of “Q Brothers Christmas Carol” (thanks for the tip).

5:27 PM: The temperature hasn’t warmed as much as forecast, but it is above freezing. Some went out and ice-skated today, like Claire, who recorded this video at Luna/Anchor Park:

Somebody else tweeted video of skating on a West Seattle street.

6:17 PM: The low bridge is closed for the second time today. … The melting has accelerated; we can hear it in the roof gutters/downspout.

6:29 PM: Trouble on the low bridge too. SDOT reports a westbound lane closed at 1st Ave.; tipster Todd says it’s a semitruck in trouble. … Still adding to our business closures/changes list; a texter pointed out that Metropolitan Market is closing at 8 pm.

8:30 PM: Melting has begun but that doesn’t mean the road ice is gone, as commenter Amy warns below … Metro says it will return to regular routing at 4 am Saturday, with a few suspended routes including West Seattle’s 125 … Sea-Tac/SEA says it’s expecting “near-normal operations” tomorrow … Though most of us are likely glad to see the ice go, it brought some beauty in its own way, this photo by Rosalie Miller shows us:

That’s thyme – “frozen in thyme,” as Rosalie quipped.

8:55 PM: As mentioned in comments, the westbound high bridge is blocked at the moment just east of the 99 overpass. It appears to be a towing operation, possibly related to the problem mentioned earlier. The low bridge appears to still be closed too, both ways.

9:03 PM: Just got an SDOT update about the low bridge:

The Spokane Street Bridge (Low Bridge) remains closed to all travelers as Seattle Department of Transportation crews continue to work to diagnose and repair mechanical issues which have caused the Spokane Street Bridge to stay in the open position. The bridge failed to close properly after a power outage was resolved and is stuck in an “open” position late this afternoon. Currently, there is no time estimate of when the bridge will re-open. SDOT advises people who drive, walk, bike, and roll on the low bridge to find alternate routes.

Also, WSF says the Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth route will be on one-boat service Saturday morning due to a staffing shortage.

10:45 PM: The westbound high bridge is open again.

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