Tag Archives: state of emergency

Breaking News, Local, Weather

‘Never seen data like this before’ – Seattle prepares for the unimaginable

1 Comment

[SEATTLE] – (MTN) Seattle officials gathered to outline the city’s planned response for the historic heatwave that will bake our region in the coming days. The city has activated the Emergency Operations Center and is working on a multiagency response to protect vulnerable residents of the area.

The National Weather Service issued an Excessive Heat Warning this afternoon, effective from 2 PM Friday to 9 PM Monday. Forecasters stated in today’s press conference, “we have never seen data like this before.” Forecast models indicate that Monday could soar to 108 degrees, which would shatter the all-time record high set in 2009.

A 24-hour emergency shelter will be opened at the Fisher Pavilion, which can accommodate up to 73 people and will be managed by the Salvation Army. The city is scrambling to open as many libraries as possible but is struggling with staffing the locations. The plan calls to have 7 libraries, including the Central Library downtown, open on Saturday, 5 on Sunday, and 3 on Monday. Later in the week, the city hopes to have 6 to 10 libraries open daily. An exact list will be available on the Seattle Public Library website.

Seattle’s Senior Centers have been closed due to COVID. The city is working to open the Greenwood, Pike Place, West Seattle, Southeast Seattle, Central Area, and Wallingford Community Senior Centers. People are advised to call ahead to confirm hours for each day. The city already started distributing fans to vulnerable seniors earlier this week.

The Lake City Community Center will be open from 9 AM to 6 PM and will have evaporative coolers to provide some comfort in the non-airconditioned facility. The International District Community Center will also be open from 2 PM to 8 PM for cooling.

Seattle City Parks and Recreation will have 8 of the 9 area beaches open starting on Saturday from 11 AM to 7 PM. The only beach closure is East Greenlake, but West Greenlake will be open. A spokesperson stated the reason for the closure was due to staffing. Additionally, the city is reopening indoor and outdoor pools, wading pools, and spray parks to the public. The 11 wading pools and six spray pools will be open from noon to 7 PM. The city’s two indoor pools and two outdoor pools will be open following their normal schedule before COVID closed the facilities down. Mayor Durkan stated that 100 public drinking fountains are now operational in the city, and they are working around the clock to turn and fix as many as possible.

Seattle City Parks also asked parents to test surface temperatures of playground equipment and surfaces to make sure they are not too hot. A spokesperson stated it could be possible to get burns.

The Seattle Fire Department has suspended training for the weekend to provide the maximum staff level and will distribute water to the public from 9 AM to 6 PM. Both Health One units will be operating over the weekend. COVID testing and vaccination sites will operate as planned, including the planned pop-up vaccination centers at Seattle Pride on 11th a the corner of Cal Anderson Park from 1 PM to 5 PM on Saturday. The HOPE Team will be performing welfare checks on the elderly and the unhomed.

Seattle City Light believes that the electrical grid will not be overwhelmed with this heat event, with peak usage typically in the wintertime. A spokesperson indicated that historically the highest demand used 75% of capacity, and summertime demand typically peaks at 50%. They will be monitoring for any possible wildfires that could threaten transmission rights of way. Finally, all planned outages for maintenance this weekend have been canceled.

The city has canceled all planned road projects this weekend (state projects may still go forward) and will be spraying bridges with water to prevent them from warping or the surfaces buckling due to the heat.

Employers who have people work outside or in non-airconditioned facilities were urged to allow workers to take frequent breaks in cool or shaded areas and have drinking water available.

Weather

Round three of snow coming

UPDATE 4:00 PM PST: The National Weather Service has extended the Winter Storm Warning until 9:00 PM PST due to continued moderate to heavy snow falling in some areas within the region. Moderate to heavy bands of snow will continue to develop into the evening hours. Some of these bands can quickly drop one to two more inches of snow. People are advised to continue to avoid travel if possible.

[SEATTLE] – (MTN) Puget Sound woke up to five to twelve inches of snow with more coming down on Saturday, as the biggest winter storm in two years blanketed the region. Light snow started falling between 6 PM and 8 PM in the Seattle-Bellevue area, while heavier snow accumulated in the South Sound. A third storm system is on tap for Saturday night and Sunday.

[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”26″ gal_title=”February 2021 Snowstorm”]

Snow showers from the current system are tapering off after a Convergence Zone formed from Marysville to Issaquah this afternoon. Saturday night, snow showers will increase again and get heavier into Sunday morning. By noon tomorrow, most areas will transition to a rain-snow mix or rain, but not before one to three more inches is added to current accumulations. Lows tonight will be 28 to 30 degrees and highs tomorrow will reach 35 to 37.

Many side streets are treacherous or impassable due to snow and ice throughout the region. During the early morning, hours on Saturday I-5 and I-405 were completely snow-covered, measured in inches in some location. Winds howled through the night with gusts as high as 40 MPH. Seattle-Tacoma International Airport had sustained winds of 25 MPH overnight, and wind chill as low as 10 degrees. In Kirkland, Seattle, and other communities, city officials closed numerous streets due to extreme conditions and the danger hills presented to drivers. Officials are appealing for people to stay off the roads if possible.

Further south in Tacoma and Olympia, 9 to 12 inches of snow fell bringing traffic to a standstill. I-5 was littered with accidents overnight in the metro Tacoma area despite light traffic, with emergency crews struggling to cover multiple crash scenes. Clark County where Vancouver is located has declared a state of emergency where roads are impassable. Portland, Oregon saw a wide range of snowfall amounts from 2 to 11 inches, with 6 inches in the city, as many areas experienced a major ice storm. Governor Kate Brown has declared a state of emergency in nine Oregon Counties due to ice accumulations, power outages, tree, and property damage. Over 130,000 people are without power in the hard-hit areas.

Monday will see temperatures approach 40 degrees with a transition to all rain. Side streets will remain a challenge in places likely into Tuesday as the snow gets converted into thick slush.