Western Washington snow set to continue throughout the weekend
Feb 8, 2019, 7:50 AM | Updated: 10:35 pm
Snowstorms in Seattle from 2012. (Stephen Brashear/Getty Images)
(Stephen Brashear/Getty Images)
Snow is expected to fall across the Puget Sound region into Saturday with a Winter Storm Warning in effect until 4 p.m.
School closings in the region
Weather forecast
Check Seattle’s snow plow map
Washington mountain pass webcams
The National Weather Service predicts snow tapering Saturday during the morning hours, marked by dry, cold air. In terms of accumulation, anywhere from 4 to 8 inches of snow could fall before Saturday afternoon.
According to KIRO 7, Renton has already received 8 inches of snow. Snoqualmie received 5.5 inches, Sea-Tac Airport received 4.3 inches, Federal Way received 4 inches, and Vashon Island received 3 inches. Port Angeles, Sequim, and Agnew were hit hardest, reporting between 8 and 13 inches of snow.
There are also warnings of potential power outages, with winds set to increase late Friday night and Saturday up to 30 miles per hours, with gusts of 45 miles per hour.
Seattle has a website dedicated to the snow storm with information on the city’s response. For information on warming shelters for homeless, there’s a running list here.
Governor Inslee declared a statewide state of emergency on Friday afternoon. But even before that, Snohomish County declared a state of emergency a day ahead of the snow. County road crews will be fully staffed around the clock, working 12-hour shifts plowing roads and salting roads. Up to 40 plows are scheduled to be working on unincorporated roads at any given time.
Other cities prepped crews as well, as Patch reports. Shoreline has plows and trucks for deicing and sanding the roads. Sammamish has a pre-planned series of roads it will plow; crews will also use deicer. Bellevue, Kirkland, and Renton have road crews working 12 hour shifts all day with plows and deicer. Issaquah has eight plows ready. Woodinville has released its snow plow route.
RELATED: How to prep for a Northwest snow storm
RELATED: Why Northwest snow can be the harder to drive in
Below are live updates from around the region, tracking commutes, snowfall, and more from Friday afternoon:
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5:14 p.m.
510pm: Heaviest snow at this time in the Seattle Metro area is in the SeaTac, Renton, Federal Way, Covington, Maple Valley areas impacting I-5, I-405, SR-167, & SR-18 in those areas. This snow will continue to push E toward Snoqualmie Pass over the next couple hrs. #wasnow #wawx https://t.co/flsKUoWZ4q
— NWS Seattle (@NWSSeattle) February 9, 2019
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4:57 p.m.
If this is additional snow through midnight, this will really help out with roads this weekend. This is manageable. (There will be heavier pockets of snow especially closer to the Cascades!) #wawx #wasnow pic.twitter.com/GbUoICamXx
— Morgan Palmer (@MorganKIRO7) February 9, 2019
4:43 p.m.
Great news for traffic! Drier air continues to "win" in many spots ending heavier snow for now.
Main storm system tonight will bring pockets of heavier snow.
Short-term models definitely struggling with this setup today. #wawx #wasnow pic.twitter.com/r0mnm9ES4m
— Morgan Palmer (@MorganKIRO7) February 9, 2019
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4:30 p.m.
Looks like traffic is already starting to die down, as early commuters arrive home.
Traffic map on the left is from 30 seconds ago 4:19, on the right from 1:58pm.. big change the past few hours #Wawx pic.twitter.com/6iK9WYcsQE
— TracyTaylorTraffic (@TracyTTraffic) February 9, 2019
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4:19 p.m.
415pm: Snow showers are moving east across the Gig Harbor area toward Tacoma, Federal Way, SeaTac, and Aubrun. Be prepared for another round of snow in those areas in the next 30-90 minutes. #wawx #wasnow @wsdot_traffic
— NWS Seattle (@NWSSeattle) February 9, 2019
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4:13 p.m.
410pm: Another band of enhanced snowfall is now beginning to move across Edmonds and Lynnwood. Expected this to move NE towards Snohomish across I-5 and 1-405 over the next 30-60 minutes. #wasnow #wawx @wsdot_traffic
— NWS Seattle (@NWSSeattle) February 9, 2019
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4:06 p.m.
On the ⬅️: Current traffic conditions
On the ➡️: traffic from an hour agoStarting to see travel times dip to below-average numbers, but don't let that fool you. We still need you to drive for the ❄️ conditions and increase your following distance. pic.twitter.com/CfpPghdcoL
— WSDOT Traffic (@wsdot_traffic) February 8, 2019
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3:51 p.m.
No matter how good a driver you think you are, you just can't be too careful around snow $ ice.
– Take your time & leave plenty of room to stop
– If you don't feel in control, find a safe spot to pull over
– Check which roads have been recently cleared: https://t.co/PAtIKyd6Kx pic.twitter.com/rSYAXZq6Zw— seattledot (@seattledot) February 8, 2019
3:34 p.m.
320pm Update: A heavier snow band will move across south #Seattle, #Burien, and #Renton over the next hour. Expect a period of quick accumulation there. #wasnow #wawx @wsdot_traffic
— NWS Seattle (@NWSSeattle) February 8, 2019
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3:21 p.m.
Woof…
Continue to drive for those wintry conditions:
🔹Slow down
🔹Give each other room
🔹PATIENCE!!!
🔹Stay engaged through Twitter or our mobile app -> https://t.co/PNpEGiwpnt https://t.co/B2CNj0O7ed— WSDOT Traffic (@wsdot_traffic) February 8, 2019
3:05 p.m.
300pm: Snow has dissipated temporarily along I-5 from downtown Seattle to Everett, but is likely to increase again over the next 30 minutes. Snow expected to stick to the roads in the area. #wawx #wasnow @wsdot_traffic
— NWS Seattle (@NWSSeattle) February 8, 2019
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2:38 p.m.
We are adding additional emergency services to care for our vulnerable homeless community, dedicating @SeattlePD transport vans to take people to warm shelters. Services will be available citywide through Wednesday. Please call 911 if you believe someone is cold & in need. #WAwx
— Seattle Police Dept. (@SeattlePD) February 8, 2019
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2:30 p.m.
Look ahead: Don't expect much change in the overall pattern over the next week or two! Cold conditions will continue. Additional snow events are also possible next week, the next system being late Sunday through early Monday. Details are uncertain. Stay tuned! #WAwx pic.twitter.com/2Cj9dEwZgW
— NWS Seattle (@NWSSeattle) February 8, 2019
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2:21 p.m.
With the start of the snowfall, we've seen a lot of folks hit the road at the same time. Signal engineers are actively working to keep traffic moving through the city.
— SDOT Traffic (@SDOTtraffic) February 8, 2019
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2:07 p.m.
We are still on Aurora Ave clocking 7 mph in the snow in #Seattle #wawx as we drive @NASCAR @F1 @IndyCar here we come! @KIRO7Seattle pic.twitter.com/pxk61XpJiE
— Ranji Sinha (@RanjiKIRO7) February 8, 2019
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2:00 p.m.
Doesn't matter where you're going, expect it to take a very. long. time. Seeing not one, not two…but 7⃣ travel times in the triple digits!
Stay on top of your routes here: https://t.co/BLWs7KOg3a and be patient! Roads will be packed for a while. pic.twitter.com/TDiMQY3zM3
— WSDOT Traffic (@wsdot_traffic) February 8, 2019
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