National Weather Service issues Coastal Flood Advisory for Seattle

March 9, 2016 by Leave a Comment

The high tide I referenced in last night’s “barking dog” report has been bumped up to an estimated 14.3 feet at 5:38 am on Thursday morning. This coincides with gusts that are predicted from Wind Alert to have gusts up to 50 mph.

From the Coastal Flooding Advisory, issued at 3:12 am:

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN SEATTLE HAS ISSUED A COASTAL
FLOOD ADVISORY...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 2 AM TO 8 AM PST
THURSDAY.

* COASTAL FLOODING...MINOR TIDAL OVERFLOW IS LIKELY AROUND THE
  TIME OF HIGH TIDE TONIGHT.

HIGH ASTRONOMICAL TIDES...AUGMENTED BY UNUSUALLY LOW ATMOSPHERIC
PRESSURE...WILL LIKELY FLOOD VERY LOW LYING COASTAL AREAS.
FLOODING IS EXPECTED TO BE MINOR AND ONLY LAST A FEW HOURS AROUND
THE TIME OF HIGH TIDE.

THE TABLE BELOW GIVES TIME AND HEIGHT OF PREDICTED TIDES...THE
PREDICTED TIDAL ANOMALY DUE TO LOW PRESSURE AND OTHER FACTORS...
AND THE SUM OF THE PREDICTED TIDE AND THE PREDICTED ANOMALY.


STATION NAME: SEATTLE
DAY     TIME         PRED      ANOMALY     PRED + ANOMALY
THU     05:38 AM     12.44     ~ 1.9               14.3

Based on these predictions, we are pulling out our pumps today just in case we flood early tomorrow morning. It may be a good idea to check on your waterfront neighbors to make sure they’re aware of the potential flooding.

There is also a Small Craft Advisory in effect through Thursday afternoon.

Filed Under: Puget Sound, Safety, Tides, Weather Tagged With: ,

Potential “Barking Dog” Report: High Winds and Waves

March 8, 2016 by 1 Comment

Barking-Dog-ReportIf you are a long time reader of Beach Drive Blog, you are familiar with the “barking dog” report. A “barking dog” report is when we are preparing to possibly flood from waves breaching our bulkhead. It’s called a “barking dog” because, much like a neighbor’s barking dog – it could be much ado about nothing. We are not professional weather people – we do care about our neighbors and will “bark” if we see what we think is enough warning. And, like your neighbor’s barking dog, we’re not always right.

So… this is what we’re looking at right now and this is subject to change (please check links on the right for updated forecast).

First of all, we have some very high tides in the next couple of days, paired with the strong winds. This chart is from NOAA.

March 8 2016 tides

Now check out this chart from Wind Alert for Alki Point.

march 8 2016 wind

This is concerning.

We have an 11.39 on Wednesday at 4:56 pm… what seems to be more concerning is the next high tide estimated at 12.44 at 5:38 am on Thursday when it’s predicted we may have gusts up to 50 mph.

Puget Sound Marine forecast:

 WED NIGHT  SE WIND 15 TO 25 KT…BECOMING S 20 TO 30 KT AFTER  MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 5 FT. RAIN.  

THU  S WIND 20 TO 30 KT. WIND WAVES 3 TO 5 FT.  

THU NIGHT  SW WIND 15 TO 25 KT…BECOMING S 10 TO 20 KT AFTER  MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT.

If for nothing else, this is a good reason to make sure you are prepared for potential flooding and to check on neighbors – make sure they know about this potential storm.

I hope this is a big to-do about nothing.

Filed Under: Safety, Weather

Found Bike

February 26, 2016 by Leave a Comment

Are you missing this bike? IMG_5512
Apparently this bike was spotted in Mee Kwa Mooks yesterday and has since been moved down the trail about 100 yards.

Filed Under: Lost and Found

Enjoy a yummy Zippy’s Giant Burger and help raise funds for Shorewood Christian School

February 20, 2016 by Leave a Comment

zippys1

Filed Under: Charity Tagged With: , , ,

Lost Keys

February 5, 2016 by Leave a Comment

This message is from a Beach Drive neighbor regarding a set of keys she lost:

I lost them sometime around Jan 7 – 14, on or near Beach Dr, near the Emma Schmidt Memorial Lookout park or close by. I had a car key, 4 diff kinds of door keys (one with a fancy print on it), 1 mail key. I just now thought to post it on this blog. Thanks for your help.

If you’ve found a set of keys, please comment on the blog or send me an email so we can reunite them with the owner.

Filed Under: Lost and Found

Update on the repaving of Beach Drive

January 28, 2016 by Leave a Comment

KOMO 4 news picked up the petition to repave Beach Drive a couple days ago.

In KOMO’s coverage, they state that “Beach Drive, according to SDOT, does not have a major bus route, and traffic volumes are not as heavy as other roads that are in need of paving”.

Beach Drive neighbor, Jim Unland provided us an update as well:

“I spoke with Sue Byers from SDOT this morning.  She is the Acting Manager of the Pavement Engineering Management Section (PEMS).  She said that she expects the City to do the repaving work on Beach Dr. from Orleans St. to Andover St. sometime this summer.

Besides waiting for the weather to improve, they also have to coordinate the installation of curb ramps at the affected intersections in compliance with the American’s with Disabilities Act.

They are unable to repave the area around La Rustica (Beach Dr./Carroll St.) at this time because of bid limit laws.  The work this summer will be done as an “in-house” job and the budget only allows for this Orleans St. to Andover St. section to be done.  I asked her to put the La Rustica intersection on the wish list and I am very hopeful that it too will get repaved as the budget and calendar permit.

One last thing, if the City has any sense, they will remove the word “Acting” from Sue Byers’ title.  She has been helpful, courteous, informative and responsive throughout my contacts with her.  She exemplifies what we want in our public employees.  If you can give her a plug in your blog, it would be a nice way of saying ‘thank you’.”

Consider that done, Jim!

By the way, you can report potholes to SDOT. They even have an app for that! Click here for more info.

Filed Under: Safety Tagged With: ,

Sewer Line Leak off the shores of Beach Drive

January 24, 2016 by Leave a Comment

There was a sewer line leak reported two days ago at the pump station located near Constellation Park (also referred to by neighbors as “Constipation Park”). It is unknown the amount of sewage that was released into Puget Sound.

From King County:

King County utility crews are working quickly this morning to repair a sewer line leak near the 63rd Avenue Pump Station, which is located at 3535 Beach Drive S.W. in Seattle.

The small leak was detected last night in a 42-inch pipeline that pumps wastewater from homes and businesses in West Seattle to King County’s West Point Treatment Plant in the Magnolia neighborhood.

An undetermined amount of wastewater overflowed out of the pipe and into Puget Sound. To protect public health and safety, crews quickly initiated cleanup and posted warning signs to keep people away from affected areas.

Construction workers will be on site this morning to repair the pipeline.

King County reported the overflow to health and regulatory agencies and will monitor water quality over the next several days.

 

 

Filed Under: Puget Sound, Safety

Petition to repave Beach Drive

January 24, 2016 by 4 Comments

bd pot hole driveA Beach Drive neighbor, Jim Unland, wants Beach Drive to be repaved. He is looking for 100 signatures on his on-line petition to repave pot-hole riddled Beach Drive. Whether your drive or bike on Beach Drive, you’re probably very aware of sad state of our street.

From Jim’s emails:

“Here is the link to a petition I created.  I am hoping you can put it on your blog and promote it and convince people to sign it and share it.  It is linked to Lisa Herbold’s email and Sue Byers (SDOT).

I have business cards ordered with the website on them and I will be walking the neighborhood giving them out.  Between websites like yours and my walking, I’m hoping to get enough signatures to get some movement on this issue by the City.

…When someone signs the petition, our Councilmember, Lisa Herbold and the two “at-large” Councilmembers, Tim Burgess and Lorena González will be emailed a message simply stating “Please Repave Beach Drive”  The other recipient of this message will be Sue Byers.  She is in charge of repaving at SDOT.”

In 2011, someone with a sense of humor re-named “Pot Hole Drive”.

You can sign the petition by clicking this link: https://www.change.org/p/jim-unland-repave-beach-drive

 

Filed Under: Politics, Safety Tagged With: , ,

Come help plant fruit trees on Chilberg

January 22, 2016 by 2 Comments
photo kevin working

Kevin getting the project started.

Chilberg neighbors have starting a volunteer landscape project in the to install 10 dwarf fruit trees on a public median. They are one of the West Seattle groups awarded a Seattle Department of Neighborhoods matching fund grant.

From the neighborhood announcement:

“Friends of the Chilberg Link will beautify a sloped median that leads to Emma Schmitz Park along the shoreline. The median is along Chilberg Ave SW between SW Carroll & SW Douglas. Friends of the Chilberg Link will remove invasives, prune vegetation, plant edible plants, and create an area for rainwater holding and a secured art piece. Work parties will be held in the winter and spring of 2016. Professional landscape firms will be hired to lead the community in landscape installation, including: Mariposa Naturescapes, Garden Cycles, and Black Lotus Landscaping LLC.

The neighborhoods desire is to honor a piece of West Seattle’s cultural and landscape history:

“The meadow at the northern end of the Schmitz property, a single lane dirt road wound down a hill through substantially uninhabited meadow to a dead end a block beyond Carroll Street.  

 When walking to and from the old Alki School [at Chilberg Ave. SW/59th and Caroll], we frequently preferred the trail along Chilberg Avenue, to enjoy some of the most beautiful wild flowers in the open fields and leading up into ‘The woods,’ the hillside forest.”  Lillevand Papers, SWSHS.

ChilburgIf you would like to help out, you can join the Friends of Chilberg on:

Saturdays and Sundays from 10:30 to 12:30 until March 15, 2016.

Bring:

  • Shovels
  • Pruners
  • Gloves
  • Cardboard (to lay on dirt)
  • Allow use of yard waste containers

For more information, contact Janice at nymanarc@gmail.com

Filed Under: Garden

King Tides coming next Week

January 6, 2016 by Leave a Comment

We have extra high tides (aka King Tides) predicted next week.

  • Wednesday, January 13th at 7:35 AM: 12.9
  • Thursday, January 14th at 8:14 AM: 13
  • Friday, January 15th at 8:55 AM: 12.9

Hopefully it will be as sunny and calm as it is today. Although it was a spectacular sight along Alki with last month’s King Tide.

Filed Under: Tides, Weather
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