A tiny snowperson on Capitol Hill (Image: Alex Garland)
Snow did, indeed, begin falling on Capitol Hill Sunday night as a highly anticipated bout of freezing temperatures poured into the region.
For Monday morning’s commute, Capitol Hill and the city’s streets were mostly clear of snow — though ice was a different story with overnight temperatures in the 20s. Meanwhile, some areas on the Eastside reported from 5″ to 9″ overnight.
A look at snowfall reports from the convergence zone as of 4am this morning. View this map and other areas across Washington for yourself at https://t.co/YILhQWKNKb #wawx pic.twitter.com/FmzNBgjh78
— NWS Seattle (@NWSSeattle) January 13, 2020
📢PLEASE SHARE📢
Starting tonight, Jan. 12, we’re adding 50 additional shelter beds at the King County Administration Building for men experiencing homelessness.#KingCountyReady #WAwx https://t.co/raBvt8tBPm
— King County, Washington (@KingCountyWA) January 12, 2020
Sidewalks are probably the biggest challenge across the Hill with a light amount of freezing snow blanketing some stretches and plenty of freezing water on others. The city has made a big push this winter to remind property owners of their responsibilities in keeping sidewalks clear and safe.
Sunday afternoon, the city began treating streets to help keep them clear through the expected snow. SDOT says the work will continue as needed but expect conditions to worsen if temperatures drop farther. Overnight, there were no reported major street closures around Capitol Hill with one report of a block vehicle near 24th and Helen.
The city will have a slow start to what will be a chilly week. Important services like Metro are back on regular schedules but schools including Seattle Public Schools and Seattle Central will delay their openings.
Officials, meanwhile, are expanding cold weather shelter services for the week.
https://twitter.com/mmitgang/status/1216616227658813443
Capitol Hill has 0.25" at 11:02pm pic.twitter.com/PoDYmlRMYf
— Josh Berenhaus 🐻🏠 (@JBerenhaus) January 13, 2020
https://twitter.com/stephhzzzzz/status/1216605795007123461
Going with snow narwhal pic.twitter.com/dHgathpAlS
— jseattle (@jseattle) January 13, 2020
While you might see a flurry or two, forecasters say the area should remain mostly dry until more precipitation arrives Wednesday.
- SDOT’s storm response map shows closures and what streets have most recently been cleared
- Metro’s snow and winter weather updates
- Capitol Hill Station and the First Hill Streetcar are fully operational
- Seattle has been doing more to remind that clearing sidewalks of snow and ice in front of buildings and residences is the property owner’s responsibility
- Public schools: You can find closure alerts here
- You can also check the CHS Street Cams page before you head out. And the CHS Weather page has the latest reports from local observations. See something others should know about? Email CHS or call/txt (206) 399-5959.
UPDATE 2:55 PM: While it has continued to snow on and off through the day, not much is sticking. As the afternoon commute approaches, temperatures are expected to begin dipping toward predicted overnight lows in the 20s. Precipitation is supposed to slack off leaving the Hill icy but probably not snowed in. Be careful on streets and sidewalks as things start to ice up. The National Weather Service, meanwhile, says there could be more snow overnight but expectations for Tuesday are for “a break in between systems,” forecasters say. Wednesday could bring more snow but predictions for temperatures seem to be moving up from earlier forecasts for temperatures below 20.
Snowing on Hill again pic.twitter.com/qifWwJkPrB
— jseattle (@jseattle) January 13, 2020
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