You can see more of Patrick’s lovely photos here.
Beautiful Photos compliments of Patrick Robinson
February 3, 2024 by Leave a Comment
Car beached at Cormorant Cove Park
April 17, 2023 by 2 Comments
We were alerted this morning by a Beach Drive neighbor, “Indie Mike”, that a vehicle was on the beach at Cormorant Cove Park.
Another Beach Drive neighbor who was passing by informed me that earlier in the morning, a tow truck was on the scene with fire and rescue to try to remove the car. Their was a huge emergency response around 6:10 am.
The vehicle seems to be lodged on rocks.
Low tide is 3.2 feet at 10:06 am.
When we first heard about this incident, we assumed that perhaps the ramp along the condos was how the car accessed the beach. Apparently, the driver opted for the sidewalk and plowed through the grass.
We don’t know if it was trying to catch the Walla Walla or why someone drove the car through the park. We hope everyone is okay.
It’s Seattle’s Fault
April 1, 2023 by Leave a Comment
Well actually, it’s the Seattle fault-line that has attracted all the recent research vessels off of Beach Drive lately. Both the UW and NOAA have been busy documenting the increasing number of methane plumes in this area.
“Several more fissures and severe uplifting have occurred since inadvertently discovering large plumes of methane bubbles in 2011”, according to UW’s Professor of Seismology Roy Hinkley.
An early study suggested that the bubbles in Puget Sound might be coming up from this underlying subduction zone. In mapping these plumes, it became clear that large numbers that were aligned along geologic fault zones known as the Seattle, Tacoma and South Whidbey faults. But the greatest number of plumes occurred where the faults intersects, such as off Alki Point in West Seattle.
Most recently, research vessels using remotely operated vehicles have discovered dramatic uplifting formations along the southern edge of the Seattle Faultline which runs roughly from Emma Schmitz View Point to Restoration Point on Bainbridge Island.
A Seattle based spokesperson for NOAA, Natalie Schafer, said that NOAA is busy surveying seafloor depths and updating NOAA marine charts. “At the rate of subduction uplifting, we may see small islets formations cropping up between Blakely Rock and Alki Point in the next 20 years”.
The most recently updated NOAA chart now reveals the budding islands.
Depths shown in feet.
Move over, Blake Island! You’ll have company soon.
Scupper, reporting for BDB.
Potential Barking Dog Report: Stormy Weather Ahead
October 25, 2022 by Leave a Comment
Seasoned readers of Beach Drive Blog know that a “barking dog report” is issued when we think there is a strong possibility of stormy weather about to happen that typically includes waves breeching seawalls. We call it a “barking dog report” because it could be similar to a neighbor’s dog that bark might actually be indicating danger or it could be just something the dog thought it saw (a big nothing). This Thursday is looking like it could be one of those days where dogs will be howling with the wind.
Check out the current forecast from Wind Alert showing gusts in the upper 30s to (almost) mid-40s!
The Marine Forecast is predicting waves up to 7 feet for Thursday!
THU: S wind 25 to 35 kt rising to 30 to 40 kt in the afternoon. Wind waves 5 to 7 ft.
On Thursday, high tides are 11.58 feet at 7:21 AM (gusts of 39 mph predicted above) AND 11.26 FEET AT 6:02 PM (gust of 38 mph). Yikes!!
Alot can happen between now and Thursday with the weather. Stay tuned…
PS: As I’m writing this (12:18 pm on Tuesday, October 25, 2022), the winds are picking up quite a bit. We do have a small craft advisory in effect until 8:00 pm tonight. The Puget Sound marine forecast states we could see wind waves build to 3-5 feet this afternoon. Fingers crossed that it hits when tides are lower…our next high tide today is a 11.40 feet at 5:32 PM. According to Wind Alert, we could see gusts in the low-30s…so we could see some splashing but I don’t believe it will be near what we may see on Thursday.
This is all a good reminder to be prepared for the fall and winter storms. 🙂 Take care neighbors!
What’s with the big white boat off Emma Schmitz Memorial View Point?
October 17, 2022 by 1 Comment
We believe that this is a UW research boat, The Thomas G. Thompson, to investigate methane gas that’s bubble plumes.
“In mapping the bubble plumes, it became clear that large numbers were aligned along geologic fault zones, primarily the ones running east and west, known as the Seattle, Tacoma and South Whidbey faults. Others lined up with smaller north-south faults, but the greatest number of bubble plumes occurred where the faults intersected, such as off Alki Point in West Seattle.”
Several Parks along Beach Drive closed due to sewer overflow
July 14, 2022 by Leave a Comment
Seattle Public Utilities has closed a couple of beaches along Beach Drive due to a sewer issue near Cormorant Cove.
This is from Seattle Public Utilities post on NextDoor:
Dear Neighbors,
Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) responded to a sewer overflow due to a broken side sewer located along Beach Dr near Cormorant Cove. As a result, beaches in the area are currently closed to water activities, including Cormorant Cove Parklet, Charles Richey Sr. Viewpoint at Alki beach, and the Andover Place street end beach access. Staff will sample the water and work with Public Health-Seattle & King County to determine when the area can be safely reopened. SPU will provide an update when we have more information. Seattle Public Utilities is working with the property owner to ensure a timely repair of the side sewer. If you find flooding or sewer backups, please report them to the SPU 24/7 Operations Response Center at (206) 386-1800. To learn more about our Spill Response Program, please visit: https://www.seattle.gov/utilities/protecting-our-environment/community-programs/pollution-control/spill-response – Seattle Public Utilities
Low Tides today and tomorrow
July 13, 2022 by Leave a Comment
Today’s low tide of -4.00 feet took place at 11:06 a.m.
Tomorrow, we’ll witness another -4.00 tide at 11:54 a.m.
Extreme Low Tides
June 13, 2022 by Leave a Comment
Today’s low tide was -3.2 feet at 10:37 a.m.
We have even lower tides for the next couple days. Check this out:
- Tuesday, June 14: -3.9 feet at 11:22 AM
- Wednesday, June 15: -4.3 feet at 12:08 PM
- Thursday, June 16: -4.1 feet at 12:57 PM
- Friday, June 17: -3.5 feet at 1:47 PM.
Extreme Low Tides this Week
May 25, 2021 by Leave a Comment
We have some extreme low tides predicted for Thursday at minus 3.88 at 12:10 pm. Today’s low tide was a minus 2.29 when I took this photo around 10:40 this morning. Friday is also set to have a very low tide… just shy of Thursday’s low at 3.86 around 12:57 pm.
This coincides with the super blood moon and lunar eclipse which will take place tonight (or technically early Wednesday morning). It may be unlikely we’ll be able to view this lunar event from Seattle with the potential cloudy skies…we can dream!
Exta low tide off Emma Schmitz Viewpoint
April 29, 2021 by Leave a Comment
This pic was taken pretty close to 1:18 pm today with a predicted low tide of -2.98.
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