White Center Now: The blog about White Center

As of minutes ago, the National Weather Service’s High Wind Warning for our area is in effect – until 10 am Sunday. In the early morning hours, the NWS says, gusts could be as high as 60 mph. We’ll be tracking the storm as it passes through – if your power goes out or other types of storm damage (downed trees, etc) hit, once you’ve contacted authorities, please let us know too – our 24/7 text/voice hotline is 206-293-6302.

12:21 PM: The wind’s here and so is the first major power outage in our area – screengrab above is from the Seattle City Light outage map. The High Wind Warning remains in effect until 7 pm.

3:34 PM: This outage is down to 1,700+ customers. And the weather is “settling down,” as the National Weather Service puts it.

Remember the windstorm that cut power to thousands in our area last Friday? Tomorrow we might see even-stronger winds. The National Weather Service has a High Wind Warning in effect for 7 am to 7 pm Thursday. Charge everything!

(UPDATED 6:25 AM)

The snow has stopped, but what’s on the ground has stayed. School changes:

From Highline Public Schools:

Holy Family Bilingual School – 1 hour late. BASS available at 8, school starts at 9

Anything else we should know? Text or call our 24/7 hotline – 206-293-6302 – thanks!

Been seeing some snow? The National Weather Service has sent out an alert about it – a “short-term forecast” alert:

… A very light dusting of snow on grassy or cold surfaces may occur, especially along the west side of Puget Sound from Bremerton to Hood Canal, south of Tacoma in Pierce county, and hilltops around the Seattle metro area. Most spots will just have passing flurries with no accumulation.

Even if this doesn’t amount to much, the longer-term forecast says we’re likely to see more, with multiple chances tomorrow through Saturday.

The snow will soon be just a Christmas memory – so thanks to Gill for sharing photos.

2 1/2 inches of snow at Gill’s place. That was also the official White Center total on this National Weather Service list. The NWS says we might see a little more light snow Tuesday night.

Though it hasn’t been a blizzard, the snow has been steady since mid-afternoon. So a few notes: Metro is on snow routes for its south and southwest areas – that includes White Center, the rest of the unincorporated area, and points south. If you need to ride a bus, check for more details here. … The National Weather Service’s advisory for “winter weather” runs through 10 am Christmas Day, and after that, it’s supposed to warm up, with rain entering the mix.

6:18 PM: More than 3,800 homes and businesses are without electricity as a result of the storm – starting in southeast White Center and vicinity, as shown on the map above, and heading south into Top Hat and part of Burien. Any other storm effects in WC/North Highline? Let us know, text/voice 206-293-6302.

7:21 PM: Most have their power back, according to the City Light outage map – which has only about 200 customers still out of electricity.

Thanks to Gill for the photo – he says he’s never seen the White Center Bog that low on water! After all this rainlessness, it’s not surprising. But that might change this weekend – some forecasters say Sunday could be very wet.

4:24 AM: Lots more snow overnight and so we start with big news:

HIGHLINE PUBLIC SCHOOLS, CLOSED TODAY:

More to come.

7:30 AM: White Center’s Holy Family Bilingual Catholic School is closed today too, as are other independent schools – Shorewood Christian, Explorer West Middle among them. Buses are on snow routes, and roads are snowy, so don’t go out if you don’t absolutely have to!

Thanks to Gill for the photo – a snowy start to 2017 in North Highline and points north and south (the National Weather Service says Sea-Tac Airport recorded about two inches). The snow started a few hours into the New Year. It’s stopped, and forecasters are NOT predicting any more, but it will be cold for a few days – highs in the low 30s, lows in the 20s.

P.S. As of mid-morning, Metro is still on snow routing in some area – check here before you go.

ADDED SUNDAY NIGHT: One more photo from our snowy New Year’s Day – thanks to Barbara Dobkin for this one:

About 3 1/2 inches, she estimated!

Thanks to Gill for the photo from an icy morning at the White Center bog – might not look this way soon, since temperatures are finally expected to climb back above freezing sometime Sunday.

Though the wind still hasn’t revved up that much, the power went out at 1:49 am for 3,783 customers (homes/businesses), mostly in Burien but also stretching into part of North Highline, particularly Top Hat. City Light’s map has yet to pinpoint what caused it; the guesstimate for restoration is currently 8 am.

4:15 AM: Outage over, per SCL map.

More than 34,000 homes and businesses are already out around the Seattle City Light service area, including parts of White Center – see the latest outage map here. If you’re not on it, call 206-684-3000. Trees are falling in many areas and have even killed one person (in Seward Park) when a tree fell on her car – don’t go out if you don’t have to, until this calms down.

(Graphic from Puget Sound Clean Air Agency website)

With another day of stagnant air, the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency has announced a Stage 1 burn ban for all of King County, in hopes of keeping the air quality from getting any worse. That means: “Use of fireplaces and uncertified wood stoves and inserts prohibited. Pellet stoves, EPA certified wood stoves and inserts are allowed. Outdoor burning prohibited.” You can find out more here.

Thanks to Gill Loring for these photos from this sunny, frosty final day of 2015. Above, Gill reports “The Bog” is iced over; below, the snowy Olympics are in view from the Greenbridge hill.

If you’ll be out tonight for New Year’s Eve, be especially careful on the hills, as so many are in the shade and have remained icy all day.

A Stage 1 burn ban is now in effect for all of King County, as announced by the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency, because of “stagnant weather conditions and rising air pollution.” It’s expected to continue at least until tomorrow. Here’s what a Stage 1 burn ban means you can’t (and can) do:

* No burning is allowed in wood-burning fireplaces, uncertified wood stoves or fireplace inserts. Residents should rely instead on their home’s other, cleaner source of heat (such as their furnace or electric baseboard heaters) for a few days until air quality improves, the public health risk diminishes and the ban is cancelled.

* The only exception is if the homeowner has a previously approved ‘No Other Adequate Source of Heat’ designation from the Clean Air Agency

* No outdoor fires are allowed. This includes recreational fires such as bonfires, campfires and the use of fire pits and chimineas.

* Burn ban violations are subject to a $1,000 penalty.

* It is OK to use natural gas and propane stoves or inserts during a Stage 1 burn ban.

Whenever the burn ban is lifted, we’ll publish an update here on WCN.

BURN BAN: As of 1 pm today (Sunday), a Stage 1 Burn Ban will be in effect for all of King County. That means no fireplace/woodstove use unless you are certified as having no other “adequate source of heat,” and no outdoor fires. This will be in effect, says the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency, until further notice.

SNOW VIEW: Belated thanks to Gill for sharing this view of snowy White Center on Saturday:

No more snow in the forecast – but below-freezing temps are hanging around!

Thanks to Gill for the colorful view! (Read all about the park here.)

(Screengrab from Seattle City Light map)
12:53 AM: Shortly after major rain started to fall, power went out to a wide area including part of White Center. The Seattle City Light outage map shows more than 4,200 homes/businesses are out of power. So far, no cause listed – just that SCL is “investigating” – but at least one tipster reports big lightning preceded it.

1:30 AM: City Light says it’s restored power to about a third of the customers affected, leaving about 2,600 without electricity.

2:02 AM: And now, fewer than 1,000 still without power.

6 AM: Almost 600, mostly in the South Park area, remain without power.