All about the West Seattle neighborhood around Beach Drive
The base of Jacobsen Road towards Beach Drive is covered with inches of ice.
The Seattle Department of Transportation is on the scene. As we have not had real snow in days, I’m guessing this build up of ice is from the natural springs and our freeeeeezing cold spell.
Bundle up and drive safe, friends!
This morning we’re waking up to raucous waves crashing on the bulkhead with spray flying over…and we’re still a couple hours from high tide (as I write this post). We think there’s pretty strong odds that we may flood…hence the “barking dog report” to warn our neighbors who might flood in these conditions too.
Here’s what we’re basing the report on.
Let’s start with the tides:
Add the Puget Sound Marine forecast with a Gale Warning in effect until 4:00 pm.
555 AM PST TUE DEC 20 2016
GALE WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL 4 PM PST THIS AFTERNOON
TODAY SW WIND 25 TO 35 KT. WIND WAVES 5 TO 7 FT. A CHANCE OF SHOWERS.
Factor in a high tide of 12.18 at 10.08 this morning. Right now (7:30 am), we are at about 8 feet and we have water and spray splashing over.
The National Weather Service in Seattle has issued a coastal flooding advisory.
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN SEATTLE HAS ISSUED A COASTAL FLOOD ADVISORY…WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 6 AM TO 11 AM PST THIS MORNING. *
COASTAL FLOODING…HIGH TIDES WILL BE ABOUT ONE FOOT BELOW WHAT NORMALLY CAUSES MINOR TIDAL OVERFLOW THIS MORNING. HOWEVER, A STRONG FRONTAL SYSTEM PASSING THROUGH THE AREA AROUND THE HIGH TIDE WILL PRODUCE WINDY CONDITIONS AND WAVES UP TO 5 FEET. THESE WAVES MAY OVERTOP SEAWALLS AROUND TODAYS MORNING HIGH TIDE.
* SOME AFFECTED LOCATIONS…SHORELINES OF PUGET SOUND…
* TIMING…TWO HOURS EITHER SIDE OF THIS MORNING`S HIGH TIDE THAT WILL OCCUR BETWEEN 8 AND 9 AM PST.
* TIDE INFO…HIGH TIDE FROM TACOMA NORTHWARD TO FRIDAY HARBOR IS AROUND 8 AM…. THE TIDES AT ALL LOCATIONS WILL BE ABOUT 1 FOOT BELOW WHERE MINOR TIDAL OVERFLOW NORMALLY OCCURS.
* IMPACTS…WAVES MAY OCCASIONALLY SEND SEA WATER OVER LOWER SEAWALLS AROUND THE HIGH TIDE THIS MORNING. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS… A COASTAL FLOOD ADVISORY INDICATES THAT ONSHORE WINDS AND TIDES WILL COMBINE TO GENERATE MINOR FLOODING OF LOW AREAS ALONG THE SHORE.
Puget Sound Marine forecast has a Gale Warning until 9:00 am this morning being reduced to a Gale Watch through Tuesday afternoon.
TODAY S WIND 25 TO 35 KT EARLY…EASING TO 15 TO 25 KT BY AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 4 TO 6 FT…SUBSIDING TO 2 TO 4 FT IN THE AFTERNOON. RAIN IN THE MORNING…THEN ISOLATED SHOWERS IN THE AFTERNOON.
TONIGHT SE WIND TO 10 KT…BECOMING S 15 TO 25 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS…BUILDING TO 2 TO 4 FT AFTER MIDNIGHT. RAIN.
TUE SW WIND 20 TO 30 KT…RISING TO 25 TO 35 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 4 TO 6 FT. SHOWERS IN THE MORNING…THEN SCATTERED SHOWERS IN THE AFTERNOON.
We do have extremely high tides right now with a 12.49 estimated at 9:24 this morning. Tuesday’s high tide is 12.18 around 10:00 am.
Wind Alert shows the stronger winds tapering down following the high tide and shows winds picking up again this evening and the wee hours on Tuesday.
The December 2016 issue of Seattle Magazine has an article written by Maria Dolan on the effects of bulkheads on the environment. I’m not able to find a link to “A Shore Thing” at the time of posting this, or I’d be sharing it with you now. 🙂 If you’d like to read it now, it looks like you’ll have to pick up the December issue.
The photo is what first caught my eye since it features Beach Drive homes on bulkheads by Mee Kwa Mooks. This spot is not far from where the City has been talking about replacing the eroding seawall along Emma Schmitz Memorial Viewpoint. Our intrepid reporter, Scupper, wrote about the seawall almost three years ago…which has had band-aid repairs at most.
The article talks about how homeowners should consider removing their bulkheads. I would guess that for many of the homes along Beach Drive, this would not be a viable option, as most the homes don’t have enough land or are do not have a high enough bank to accommodate a shore.
It will be interesting to see what winds up happening to the deteriorating bulkhead along Emma Schmitz.
The National Weather Service has issued Winter Storm Watch for Monday with… the “s word”.
URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SEATTLE WA 107 PM PST SUN DEC 4 2016 WAZ507-555-556-558-050615- /O.NEW.KSEW.WS.A.0010.161206T0000Z-161206T1200Z/ /O.CON.KSEW.WW.Y.0030.161205T1200Z-161205T2000Z/ EVERETT AND VICINITY-EAST PUGET SOUND LOWLANDS-BELLEVUE AND VICINITY- SEATTLE AND VICINITY- 107 PM PST SUN DEC 4 2016 ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 4 AM TO NOON PST MONDAY... ...WINTER STORM WATCH IN EFFECT FROM MONDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH LATE MONDAY NIGHT... THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN SEATTLE HAS ISSUED A WINTER STORM WATCH...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM MONDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH LATE MONDAY NIGHT. * TIMING...SHOWERS WILL INCREASE MONDAY MORNING BETWEEN 4 AM AND NOON. SLIGHTLY WARMER TEMPERATURES WILL BRING MOSTLY RAIN SHOWERS BY AFTERNOON. COLDER AIR ARRIVES MONDAY EVENING WITH A PUGET SOUND CONVERGENCE ZONE PRODUCING SNOW SHOWERS DOWN TO SEA- LEVEL THROUGH LATE MONDAY NIGHT. * SNOW AMOUNTS...A TRACE TO 2 INCHES ABOVE 500 FEET MONDAY MORNING. MONDAY NIGHT...LOCALLY UP TO 4 INCHES OF ADDITIONAL SNOW POSSIBLE FROM NORTH SEATTLE TO EVERETT AND EASTWARD TO THE FOOTHILLS INCLUDING THE BELLEVUE AREA. LITTLE OR NO SNOW ACCUMULATION ELSEWHERE AROUND THE METRO REGION NOT AFFECTED BY THE CONVERGENCE ZONE. * SNOW LEVELS...MAINLY NEAR 500 FEET MONDAY MORNING...RISING IN THE AFTERNOON. SNOW LEVELS FALLING TO SEA-LEVEL MONDAY EVENING THROUGH LATE MONDAY NIGHT AS COLD NORTHERLY FRASER OUTFLOW DEVELOPS. * IMPACTS...SLUSH ON SOME ROADWAYS ABOVE 500 FEET MAY CAUSE SLIPPERY DRIVING CONDITIONS MONDAY MORNING. TEMPERATURES FALLING INTO THE UPPER 20S MONDAY NIGHT WILL CAUSE ANY SNOW OR RECENT MOISTURE TO BECOME ICY DURING THE COMMUTES. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SNOW MEANS THAT PERIODS OF SNOW COULD CAUSE TRAVEL DIFFICULTIES. USE CAUTION WHILE DRIVING. A WINTER STORM WATCH MEANS THERE IS A POTENTIAL FOR SIGNIFICANT SNOW...SLEET...OR ICE ACCUMULATIONS THAT MAY IMPACT TRAVEL. CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE LATEST FORECASTS
Emma Schmitz Overlook’s lower access will be closed starting November 28th through December 9th to replace the rusty old handrails.
The National Weather Service has issued a Wind Advisory starting at 9:00 am this morning and going though 3:00 pm this afternoon…this is just in time for a very high tide of 12.15 at 2:24 pm.
Remember, we call this a “barking dog report” because just like your neighbors dog that barks a little too much… sometimes there’s actually a reason for the barking. We issue a “barking dog report” when we think there is a good probability that we may have flooding from water coming over the bulkhead.
URGENT - WEATHER MESSAGE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SEATTLE WA 435 AM PST SAT NOV 12 2016 ...WIND ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 9 AM THIS MORNING TO 3 PM PST THIS AFTERNOON... * TIMING...STRONGEST WINDS WILL OCCUR FROM 9 AM THIS MORNING THROUGH 3 PM THIS AFTERNOON. * WINDS...SOUTH TO SOUTHWEST 20 TO 30 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 45 MPH. * IMPACTS...WINDS OF THIS MAGNITUDE CAN BREAK TREE LIMBS FALLING ONTO ROADS...VEHICLES...AND ROOFTOPS. ISOLATED POWER OUTAGES ARE POSSIBLE.
The Puget Sound Marine forecast:
S WIND 15 TO 25 KT…BECOMING SW 20 TO 30 KT LATE IN THE
MORNING AND AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT…BUILDING TO 3 TO 5 FT. RAIN IN THE MORNING…THEN A CHANCE OF RAIN IN THE AFTERNOON.
Wind Alert has the strongest gusts predicted around 11:00 am through 2:00 pm today.
If not for the 12 foot tides and currently predicted strong southwest winds… I *might* not be yapping right now. And want to give neighbors as much notice as possible in the event some of us flood.
Weather forecast change constantly. These reports are from around 4:00 am this morning (not sure how current Wind Alerts reporting is).
Stay tuned and be safe!
We have another stormy day ahead of us as the remains of Typhoon Songda hits our area. Today’s storm is supposed to be much stronger than yesterday. Currently the National Weather Service has a “storm warning” for the Puget Sound and “high wind warning” for our region. Weather Guru Cliff Mass is warning people to stay away from trees during this storm as branches are likely to come down. Seattle’s Mayor recommends that we stay out of parks this weekend to avoid injury or worse from falling trees.
We’re issuing another “Barking Dog Report” because we are preparing for another day of water coming over the bulkhead. Even though the wind direction is not what we typically require for flooding for our home (SW), the winds are predicted to be powerful at the same time of higher tides.
The strongest winds are expected to hit our area in conjunction with higher tides. This afternoon’s high tide is an 11.9 at 4:45 pm.
Here’s the current Puget Sound Marine Forecast:
PZZ135-151900-
PUGET SOUND AND HOOD CANAL-
258 AM PDT SAT OCT 15 2016
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON
STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH LATE
TONIGHT
TODAY
SE WIND 5 TO 15 KT EARLY…BECOMING E 15 TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS EARLY…BUILDING TO 2 TO 4 FT IN THE AFTERNOON. RAIN.
TONIGHT
S WIND 30 TO 40 KT WITH GUSTS NEAR 60 KT…EASING TO 20 TO 30 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 5 TO 7 FT…SUBSIDING TO 3 TO 5 FT AFTER MIDNIGHT. RAIN IN THE EVENING…THEN SCATTERED SHOWERS AFTER MIDNIGHT.
High Wind Warning from the National Weather Service:
URGENT - WEATHER MESSAGE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SEATTLE WA 400 AM PDT SAT OCT 15 2016 EVERETT AND VICINITY-TACOMA AREA-HOOD CANAL AREA- EAST PUGET SOUND LOWLANDS-BELLEVUE AND VICINITY-SEATTLE AND VICINITY- BREMERTON AND VICINITY- 400 AM PDT SAT OCT 15 2016 ...HIGH WIND WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE PUGET SOUND REGION FROM 3 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 2 AM PDT SUNDAY... * WIND...INCREASING FROM THE SOUTH AT 20 TO 35 MPH WITH GUSTS LOCALLY NEAR 60 MPH LATE THIS AFTERNOON BEFORE SUBSIDING LATER THIS EVENING. * SOME AFFECTED LOCATIONS...SEATTLE...EVERETT...TACOMA... BREMERTON...BRINNON...WOODINVILLE...BELLEVUE...AND SUMNER. * TIMING...THE STRONGEST WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO OCCUR BETWEEN 4 PM AND 9 PM PDT. * IMPACTS...HIGH WINDS CAN TOPPLE TREES ONTO ROADS...VEHICLES... AND ROOFTOPS. FALLING TREES OR LARGE BRANCHES HAVE BEEN KNOWN TO CAUSE FATALITIES DURING WINDSTORMS. DOWNED POWER LINES CAN CAUSE POWER OUTAGES LASTING A COUPLE OF HOURS OR LONGER. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... SECURE LOOSE OUTDOOR OBJECTS OR LIGHT WEIGHT FURNITURE BEFORE THE STRONG WINDS ARRIVE. IF THERE IS A POWER OUTAGE, AVOID THE RISK OF CARBON MONOXIDE POISONING BY KEEPING PORTABLE GENERATORS AND BARBECUE GRILLS OUTDOORS.
Here’s Wind Alert‘s current chart for predicted winds by Lincoln Park.
Yesterday is old news… however we did experience flooding at our home. It wasn’t nearly as bad as it could have been had the winds been more southwest. Thank you to our wonderful neighbors who stopped by to check on us and help out with the pumps. Our immediate neighbors did not seem to be impacted with flooding yesterday. I posted live videos on Facebook/beachdriveblog.
Stay safe everyone! Charge up those cell phones, check those flashlights for batteries and check on your neighbors. Take care.
Well we made it through last night without having to fire up our pumps. Now we are waiting for the next high tide later this afternoon when winds are anticipated to be strong.
Our next high tide is at predicted to be 11.64 feet around 4:11 pm today.
Here is Wind Alert’s graph showing wind predictions for the Lincoln Park area.
Check out the gust!!
PZZ135-141900-
PUGET SOUND AND HOOD CANAL-
258 AM PDT FRI OCT 14 2016
GALE WARNING IN EFFECT THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH LATE TONIGHT
TODAY
S WIND 25 TO 35 KT…BECOMING 20 TO 30 KT IN THE
AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 4 TO 6 FT…SUBSIDING TO 3 TO 5 FT IN THE AFTERNOON. RAIN.
TONIGHT
S WIND 15 TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT. SHOWERS LIKELY.
SAT
S WIND 5 TO 15 KT…BECOMING SE 15 TO 25 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS…BUILDING TO 2 TO 4 FT IN THE AFTERNOON. RAIN LIKELY IN THE MORNING…THEN RAIN IN THE AFTERNOON.
SAT NIGHT
SE WIND 35 TO 45 KT…BECOMING S 25 TO 35 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 6 TO 8 FT…SUBSIDING TO 4 TO 6 FT AFTER MIDNIGHT.
The direction of the winds today, per The Weather Channel, are actually south southwest. This is more concerning for our home as we tend to flood with a SW wind (assuming the tide is high enough and winds are strong).
Our home will be “on alert” later this afternoon as our next opportunity to have water come over our bulkhead approaches with the high tide around 4:00 pm
But wait…it’s not over yet! We have Saturday’s storm which local forecasters are saying will be a whopper.
URGENT - WEATHER MESSAGE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SEATTLE WA 449 AM PDT FRI OCT 14 2016 SOUTHWEST INTERIOR-EVERETT AND VICINITY-TACOMA AREA-HOOD CANAL AREA- BELLEVUE AND VICINITY-SEATTLE AND VICINITY-BREMERTON AND VICINITY- 449 AM PDT FRI OCT 14 2016
…WIND ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM PDT THIS EVENING…
…HIGH WIND WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM SATURDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH
LATE SATURDAY NIGHT…
…HIGH WIND WARNING HAS ENDED…
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN SEATTLE HAS ISSUED A WIND ADVISORY…
WHICH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM PDT THIS EVENING. THE HIGH WIND
WARNING HAS ENDED.
* TIMING…SOUTHERLY WINDS WILL RISE AGAIN MIDDAY TODAY AND PEAK
THIS AFTERNOON OR EARLY EVENING…THEN EASE TEMPORARILY
TONIGHT. A STRONGER STORM WILL ARRIVE SATURDAY EVENING WITH HIGH
WINDS LIKELY.
* WINDS…SOUTH WINDS 20 TO 30 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 45 MPH
TODAY…STRONGEST MIDDAY THROUGH AFTERNOON. SOUTH WINDS 20 TO 40
MPH WITH GUSTS TO 65 MPH ARE POSSIBLE SATURDAY NIGHT.
* IMPACTS…THERE WERE SCATTERED POWER OUTAGES OVERNIGHT…AND
MORE ARE POSSIBLE WITH THE WINDS TODAY. TREE DAMAGE IS TYPICALLY
GREATER THIS EARLY IN THE SEASON…SO KEEP IN MIND THAT FALLING
LIMBS AND TREES ARE AN OCCASIONAL CAUSE OF INJURY AND FATALITY
DURING WESTERN WASHINGTON WINDSTORMS.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…
A WIND ADVISORY MEANS THAT WINDS OF 35 MPH ARE EXPECTED WITH GUSTS
AS HIGH AS 50 MPH. WINDS THIS STRONG CAN MAKE DRIVING
DIFFICULT…ESPECIALLY FOR HIGH PROFILE VEHICLES. USE EXTRA
CAUTION.
A HIGH WIND WATCH MEANS THERE IS THE POTENTIAL FOR A HAZARDOUS HIGH
WIND EVENT. SUSTAINED WINDS OF AT LEAST 40 MPH…OR GUSTS OF 58 MPH
OR STRONGER MAY OCCUR. CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE LATEST FORECASTS.
Saturday’s high tides are a 10.77 at 4:44 am and a 11.9 at 4:45 pm.
Stay safe, my friends! Looks like you may have a couple hours to prepare, if you haven’t already.
The National Weather Service have recently updated the forecast for the storm coming in tonight and the following storm on Saturday. [Read more…]
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