All about the West Seattle neighborhood around Beach Drive
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:
UPDATE: Meow-Meow is back home with her humans.
Meow-Meow, aka Meowmies, is a standard tabby, overweight, who has been missing from her home near the lighthouse since yesterday. If you see her, please call Richard at 206-660-0512.
We have a Small Craft Advisory in effect starting late tonight through Monday morning. Wind Alert is showing that it may be very gusty all of Monday.
Puget Sound Marine forecast as of 9:05 am this morning:
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM LATE TONIGHT THROUGH MONDAY MORNING
SUN
S wind 15 to 25 kt. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft. A chance of showers in the morning then rain in the afternoon.
SUN NIGHT
S wind 15 to 25 kt rising to 20 to 30 kt after midnight. Wind waves 3 to 5 ft.
MON
SW wind 15 to 25 kt rising to 25 to 35 kt in the afternoon. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft building to 4 to 6 ft in the afternoon.
MON NIGHT
SW wind 25 to 35 kt easing to 15 to 25 kt after midnight. Wind waves 4 to 6 ft subsiding to 2 to 4 ft after midnight.
SUNDAY NIGHT…Breezy, rain. Rainfall amounts a half inch to one inch possible. Lows in the 40s. South wind 15 to 25 mph with gusts to 35 mph.
MONDAY…Windy. Showers in the morning, then showers and a slight chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon. Rainfall amounts a tenth to a quarter of an inch possible, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. Highs near 50. Southwest wind 15 to 25 mph with gusts to 35 mph increasing to 20 to 35 mph with gusts to 45 mph in the afternoon.
MONDAY NIGHT…Windy. Showers and a slight chance of thunderstorms in the evening, then showers likely after midnight. Lows near 40.
TUESDAY…Breezy. Showers likely in the morning, then partly sunny with a chance of showers in the afternoon. Highs in the lower 50s.
Last but not least… the tides for Monday, April 4, 2022:
If we have winds gusting in the mid-40s with waves 5-6 foot waves, we could see some serious splashing over seawalls. If the current wind forecast is accurate, we might “luck out” with the tides.
Update: April 2nd
This April 1st post is quickly developing as Beach Drive residents stormed the port offices last night and negotiated to replace proposed freighter/cargo anchorages with underwater cradles for our submarine fleet. Crisis averted; future views restored!
Scupper
The comment period regarding commercial shipping being allowed to use waters off West Seattle’s Beach Drive for temporary anchorages ended on March 31st. A port spokesperson stated that the additional “temporary” anchorages will go a long ways to solve our regional supply chain issues “the port’s current overflow anchorage in Manchester WA has helped alleviate our additional needs in a robust economy but is not nearly enough to satisfy the pandemic caused surplus of inbound shipping”. He went on the say that ships bound for our waters are having to wait off our coast for up to two weeks before port and anchorage capacity is available causing fears of environmental disaster as seasonal weather systems can jeopardize safety at sea.
The approved plan is to immediately provide four cargo/container ship anchorages between the Fauntleroy ferry terminal to the south and roughly Alki Point to the north. Anticipated need is predicted though the first half of 2023 but the permit is valid through 2025.
The Port together with the CG will closely monitor the anchorage and has made the following assurances:
• When ships are fueled, all operations must be encircled by a boom
• Ships may not dump grey water. — from activities like laundry, dishwashing and bathing — or blackwater, from toilets. They’re required to dump it after they reach shore.
• A Coast Guard radar tracks when a vessel moves beyond its swing circle, and an alarm sounds.
Other concerns voiced by Beach Drive residents that were addressed:
While anchored, ships must keep their deck lights on high enough that crew members can move about safely, said CG Cmdr. Bill Bligh, chief of prevention. They need to run generators for power, but are encouraged not to slam hatches or grind metal, particularly after 8 p.m. “although nothing specifies exactly how bright or loud they can be”.
Beach Drive Blog will update this post as information becomes available.
Scupper, reporting for the BDB
A tip of the hat to our neighbors who let us know West Seattle Blog recently uncovered major project on Beach Drive to replace sections of the gas main.
From West Seattle Blog:
Puget Sound Energy will be replacing 5,049 feet of a gas main line on Beach Dr. SW. starting in May with work expected to last about 90 days.
This is part of a project to improve the infrastructure in the area and provide safe and reliable natural gas service.
During the project, about 100 customers will have their gas turned off due to a service replacement of their line or their service lines being reconnected to the new gas main.
When possible, the gas main installation will be directional drilled to limit some of traffic issues on that street.
PSE is working with the Seattle Department of Transportation and will use flaggers to keep traffic moving.
All customers impacted will be notified before their service is interrupted.
On a positive note, maybe this will help detour some of the speeders and traffic we get on Beach Drive.
UPDATE 2:39 AM: Nobody home at the time of the fire.
This home is the historic “chicken coop” home on Beach Drive, reported to be the oldest home on the street. The home is just north of the duplex that was once Quesnel’s Restuarant.
A fire has been put out at 4701 Beach Drive SW. We hope everyone is safe. (Originally reported as 4703 Beach Drive per SFD’s 911 website).
The power went out at our home just before 10:30 a.m. for the two poles being replaced on SW Dawson Street between 49th and 50th.
The Seattle City Light map shows the pole replacement has impacted the power of almost 200 homes.
Hopefully the power is restored soon on this chilly sunny day!
This 107 year old home located at 4022 Beach Drive Southwest will soon be demolished. Two duplexes are scheduled to be built on this lot across the street from Weather Watch Park.
You may have received a notice on your doorknob last week regarding a scheduled power outage in early March. (The date on our card for the outage is March 9, 2022).
From Seattle City Light:
Seattle City Light contracted crews will be working on a project to replace aging utility poles in the vicinity of 49th Avenue Southwest & Southwest Dawson Street.
The upcoming construction will require a primary power outage that will impact customers along Beach Drive and other side streets (from south of Southwest Beach Drive Terrace up to Southwest Oregon Street). This maintenance work will enhance safety and electrical reliability.
The work will require a scheduled power outage, allowing crews to complete this work safely. City Light has notified all affected customers about the upcoming outage that will be happening in early March.
For more information, please visit our program website: https://www.seattle.gov/city-light/in-the-community/current-projects/accelerated-pole-replacement-program.
Per the info left hanging on our door from Seattle City light, power may be out as long as 8 hours.
Anything over four hours can impact the safety of food stored in the fridge. The USDA states:
your refrigerator will keep food safe for up to 4 hours during a power outage. Keep the door closed as much as possible. Discard refrigerated perishable food such as meat, poultry, fish, eggs, and leftovers after 4 hours without power.
After a power outage never taste food to determine its safety. You will have to evaluate each item separately—use this chart as a guide. When in Doubt, Throw it Out!
Here’s more info: Food Safety During Power Outage | FoodSafety.gov
You probably just received an alert via your cell phone for a Tsunami Advisory for coastline in King County. The tsunami was caused by an underwater volcano erupting near the Tonga Islands.
I just checked out the map on Tsunami.gov and it “appears” that we should be safe if the map is accurate.
High tide was 11.69 ft at 5:06 am. As I write this post (10:15 am), the current tide is approx. 8.33 feet and will be heading back up to 10.23 feet around 2:15 this afternoon.
At the very least, for our area, this could be an opportunity to practice for a tsunami. We hope everyone along the west coast, San Juan Islands and around the world are safe!
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