How it unfolded: Big storm sweeps across Western Washington, dumping snow on Seattle area

Scattered snow showers are expected throughout Western Washington through Saturday night and into Sunday morning, according to the National Weather Service. But by Sunday afternoon, look for rain to return.

"Through Sunday night into Monday, you could see some wintry mix," said Mary Butwin, meteorologist for the National Weather Service.

As the weather transitions and the temperature begins to rise, precipitation could include sleet or freezing rain into Monday, Butwin said. Starting Tuesday, the Seattle area will see temperatures return to the mid-30s and 40s.

Expect Seattle's regular rainy February to return early next week, Butwin said.

Four severe-weather shelters are currently open in Snohomish County to help people who are living outside escape the brutal elements.

Two severe weather shelters are open in Everett. The United Church of Christ is open (2624 Rockefeller Ave.) and recommends calling to check availability at 425-740-2550. The Everett cold-weather shelter is open at 3001 Oakes Ave.   

Lynnwood’s cold-weather shelter is open starting at 7 p.m. nightly at 17620 60^th Ave. W. Walk-ins are not accepted at this shelter and people must meet at one of four pickup locations.

The Sky Valley cold-weather shelter is open in Monroe. It’s located at the Evergreen State Fairgrounds at Highway 2 & 179^th Street, Monroe.

Young people seeking shelter can call 425-877-5171. Cold-weather shelters in Snohomish County usually open on nights that are expected to drop below freezing between the months of November and March.

As snow continued falling into Saturday evening, the Seattle Neighborhood Farmers Markets announced the cancellation of two markets scheduled for Sunday.

The West Seattle Farmers Market and Capitol Hill Farmers Market will be closed on Sunday.

"You know we would have loved to spend the day with our wonderful shoppers and all-star crew of farmers, but at this time we believe it is in the best interest of safety for all to CANCEL SUNDAY MARKETS," the organization wrote in an email Saturday.

For anyone who ordered in advance using the "WhatsGood Pick-up orders" for the West Seattle or Capitol Hill locations, their orders will be canceled and refunded, according to Seattle Neighborhood Farmers Markets.

Amazingly, despite the snow, the University District's Farmers Market remained open until 2 p.m. Saturday.

Around 3 p.m. Saturday, the Washington State Patrol responded to a large accident on westbound Interstate 90 that involved 15 collisions including three vehicle rollovers, according to Trooper Rick Johnson. The accident happened at mile marker 34.

“There was an infant in one of the vehicles that rolled over,” Johnson said. “It looks like they’re going to be OK. They’re at the hospital now.”

As of 5 p.m. Saturday, all westbound I-90 lanes remained closed starting at mile marker 38, while the Washington State Patrol worked to clean up the accident and treat the road. Before the large I-90 accident, King County’s Washington State Patrol had responded to 197 calls involving vehicles collisions, spinouts and stalls, Johnson said.

“Until this [I-90 incident] happened this afternoon, we didn’t have any real injury collisions,” Johnson said.     

Seattle City Light is reporting two power outages in the greater Seattle area as of Saturday afternoon.

One outage is in Shoreline and one in Burien. About 275 people are currently affected, according to Debra Smith, CEO and general manager of Seattle City Light. Smith spoke at a winter-weather news conference held by the city of Seattle Saturday afternoon.

“Service should be restored fairly quickly,” Smith said. “Snow doesn’t cause power outages. What causes power outages are lines that get heavy or tree limbs that fall on lines.”

Seattle City Light is fully staffed this weekend and monitoring weather conditions, Smith said. If snow turns to rain and temperatures remain above freezing, Smith said that should help prevent further power outages.

However, "if we have rain, snow, rain, snow — which some of the predictions show — that can be problematic because a strain on lines and tree limbs is cumulative," Smith said.

If you come across a downed powerline, stay away, Smith said. "Assume it is hot and call 911."

Many COVID-19 vaccination sites canceled their scheduled vaccinations Saturday due to the region’s snowy winter weather.

If you were not able to make your vaccination appointment today or if it was canceled, here’s what you should know about rescheduling:

1. The health care provider will either automatically reschedule your appointment or contact you with next steps.

Public Health - Seattle & King County said that it would call people who were on Saturday’s vaccination schedule for its Auburn and Kent sites. Both sites were closed Saturday due to the weather. People can also reschedule online.

Virginia Mason’s helpline said that it will automatically reschedule appointments for anyone who wasn’t able to make it Saturday. And Fred Hutch said on its website that impacted individuals will receive an email and text message with further directions.

2. You’ve got some wiggle room to get your second dose.

If you were scheduled to receive your second dose of the Pfizer or Modern vaccine Saturday, Virginia Mason’s website told people not to worry.

The second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine can be “administered up to six weeks, or 42 days, after the first dose.”

3. Some vaccination sites remain open.

Despite blustery conditions, University of Washington’s testing and vaccination sites remain open.

For an up-to-date list of COVID-19 vaccination locations across Washington state, visit the Washington State Department of Health’s website.

With inches of snow on the ground, the city of Seattle and King County will open a severe weather shelter at Seattle City Hall Saturday evening for people living outside to escape from the winter elements.

Last night, 159 people stayed in four severe weather shelters scattered across Seattle, according to Helen Howell, interim director of Seattle’s Human Services Department. A total of 189 emergency shelter beds were available Friday.

The City Hall severe weather site, located at 600 4^th Ave., is replacing a severe-weather shelter located at the County Building located at 420 Fourth Ave. The County Building's shelter could only hold 25 people and was limited to men.

By opening a new, replacement shelter in City Hall, said Sherry Hamilton, a spokesperson for King County, capacity is increased by 50 people and can now serve co-ed, single adults.

The City Hall site will be run by the Salvation Army overnight and by Compass Housing Alliance in the daytime. The site is scheduled to remain open until Monday.  

The three other severe weather shelters that remain open are:

• Seattle Center’s Fisher Pavilion, located at 305 Harrison St.   
• Garfield Community Center, located at 2323 East Cherry St.  
• Bitter Lake Community Center, 13035 Linden Ave. N. 

Each shelter is operating 24/7, according to city spokesperson, Lori Patrick. All shelters are currently scheduled to remain open until Monday. Additionally, the King County Jefferson Day Center is open 365 days of the year and provides hot coffee and a chance for people to come inside and warm up from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

No one was turned away from a severe-weather shelter Friday night, according to Patrick. Two people did not pass the COVID-19 screening. And one person was transferred to an Isolation and Quarantine site run by Seattle-King County Public Health. The other person declined transport.

Another couple inches of snow are expected in the Puget Sound area until temperatures break above freezing Sunday afternoon, the latest forecast says.

So far, between 9 and 12 inches have accumulated in Seattle, with official totals of 8 inches at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, the National Weather Service says. Amounts vary by elevation.

In lowland Snohomish County totals are near 6 inches, while in the Olympia area, where snow began earlier in the week, reports of 12 to 20 inches have poured in, said meteorologist Mary Butwin.

A winter storm warning remains in effect until 4 p.m. Saturday.

"Snow will gradually be tapering off through the area," Butwin said. "There's going to be snow in some spots but it will be lightening in intensity." Another wet weather system will show up late Sunday morning.

Less than 1 1/2 inches will arrive overnight and Sunday morning, with the low near 29 degrees.

Meteorologists are watching for possibly increasing precipitation, as very wet snow or freezing rain, in Snohomish County through Sunday and early Monday. In Seattle, a 90% chance of cold rain is forecast Sunday night.

The Washington State Patrol urges people not to drive. Stalled vehicles get in the way of snowplows.

So far today, there have been 41 spinouts and crashes, plus 156 stalled or abandoned vehicles in King County, according to Trooper Rick Johnson.

Besides the state and city road plows, the Seattle Department of Transportation has deployed three mini-plows to clear bicycle lanes, said SDOT traffic engineer Dongho Chang. Some cyclists are traveling about the city and finding that fat tires grip okay.

Chang tweeted that SDOT has closed Queen Anne Avenue North to vehicle traffic. People have been sliding and skiing there all morning.

Seattle Parks and Recreation invites residents to go sledding on four public golf courses this weekend.

It's a safe alternative to sliding on streets, where people occasionally are injured hitting parked or moving motor vehicles.

People also flock to hilly school campuses, such as Madison Middle School in West Seattle, or they set cones around neighborhood roads. The steep Queen Anne Avenue North has attracted 100 or more skiers and sliders (a very risky situation), but some car drivers have tried to climb the street and obstructed the area.

When you're outdoors, doctors in the Seattle area urge people to swap out wet COVID masks for dry masks, in wet conditions like this weekend, KIRO 7 reports. Wet masks clog so air can't pass, and instead leaks out from the sides, authorities say. And in cold, dry air, masks are encouraged because coronavirus droplets linger longer than usual, reports CTV in Montreal.

Several Seattle-area coronavirus vaccination sites closed Saturday due to heavy snowfall.

County vaccination sites in Kent and Auburn will also be closed because of severe weather, Public Health - Seattle & King County said on Twitter.

People with scheduled appointments will receive calls to reschedule for next week or can reschedule online using the link in their text or email confirmation, the county said. The county instructed those with appointments to ignore any automated reminders they receive about appointments today. The Kent site is expected to reopen Monday and the Auburn site on Tuesday.

In Seattle, the Swedish vaccine clinic at Seattle University is canceled Saturday. Those planning to get the Moderna vaccine should go to the clinic Monday or Tuesday. No Pfizer vaccines will be given those days, the clinic said.

Some testing sites will also be closed. King County's testing sites in Auburn, Tukwila, Federal Way, Enumclaw, Renton, Bellevue and at Highline College will be closed Saturday.

Virginia Mason announced on its COVID-19 vaccination helpline Saturday morning that it will be closing its vaccination clinic located on its main campus at 3 p.m. Saturday. In order for people to receive their scheduled vaccine, they must arrive to the main campus’ Health Resources Building, located at 909 University St., by 2:30 p.m. today, according to the helpline.

If the weather conditions prohibit patients from making their appointment today, Virginia Mason said that it will automatically reschedule the appointment to a future date.

It has yet to announce if the regularly scheduled vaccinations for Sunday, Feb. 14 will take place. Spokesperson Gale Robinette said Virginia Mason would continue monitoring snow conditions to determine whether to host clinics planned for Sunday.

The hospital encouraged people to keep monitoring its helpline — 206-341-0985 — for future updates.

If this weekend’s weather prohibits people from obtaining their second dose of vaccine, Virginia Mason’s website told people not to worry. The second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine can be “administered up to six weeks, or 42 days, after the first dose.”

Testing and vaccination sites are still open at UW Medicine. If you need to cancel or change your testing or vaccination appointment, find ways to contact UW Medicine here. 

Nearly four hours after sunrise, it's still road roulette on Seattle-area highways where some spots are clear enough to drive, while in other places vehicles are sliding out of control.

Snoqualmie Pass remains open as of 10:30 a.m., with chains required except all-wheel drive vehicle. A trickle of motorists are making it through, with the I-90 lanes covered in white at the summit, but bare pavement showing from Lake Keechelus east to Cle Elum.

WSDOT reports a collision at the junction of I-90 with I-405 in Bellevue, and a truck spinout near Northgate on southbound I-5.

In Seattle, about 100 skiers and sliders are enjoying the snowy Queen Anne Hill counterbalance, said resident and safe-streets activist Mark Ostrow.

Skiers and snowboarders tend to glide all the way down to Roy Street, while children are bailing out after a couple blocks, he said.

"It's mostly people sliding on whatever they can find -- laundry hampers, cardboard boxes covered in duct tape, inner tubes, and some people in '70s European ski outfits," said Ostrow, standing on a streetcorner.

So far, the snow is new and crunchy, so most are zigzagging or sliding at casual speeds, he said.

A few drivers tried to climb the hill with what he called "50-50" success -- a serious breach of etiquette in rare Seattle snowstorms. Safer detours are available, using Olympic Drive West past Kerry Park west of the counterbalance.

Washington State Ferries will soon cut back to "severe weather" schedules because crews are having difficulty reaching the docks for the mid-day shift change, said spokesman Ian Sterling. And few people are traveling, he said.

"Why put people in danger to get to work and keep operating the system, when there's nobody aboard the boats?" he said.

Check for ferry updates here. Sailings are being reduced by nearly half on some corridors. WSF expects to continue on reduced service Sunday.

Bus and car drivers struggled to maintain friction with the roads Saturday morning, after six to eight inches of snow fell overnight, and a steady dusting continues.

King County Metro Transit says it's following snow routes on all service. Generally that means bus drivers detour around steep hills, and that slide-prone trolleybuses either shorten their paths or are replaced by diesel-hybrid vehicles. Metro also deploys chain-up teams and chained buses are limited to 30 mph.

Go here to look up service advisories for your bus line.

For instance, Route 2 trolleybuses are skipping Queen Anne and First Hill, with similar reductions to Routes 3 near Seattle Pacific University and the Route 4 at First Hill. Riders from Seattle Center to First Hill are directed to routes like the diesel-powered Route 8, which itself will take Pine Street rather than the steeper Denny Way/I-5 overpass.

Riders on the sidewalks should look around for other kinds of brief detours.

In past storms, the RapidRide C Line in West Seattle skips a three-block descent on 35th Avenue Southwest, instead cruising along Fauntleroy Way to Avalon Way, which former streetcar routes with gentler grades -- but transit drivers either miss or improvise two passenger bus-boarding stops, a common source of frustration.

Metro hasn't taken the more severe step to an Emergency Snow Network, when many routes are canceled outright to focus limited buses on a smaller core.

In the Columbia City neighborhood, a nurse waited for a ride-hailing car to take her to work -- and then the driver spun out on the slippery road, Times photographer Bettina Hansen noticed.

Seattle Department of Transportation truck crews have plowed or salted all Ship Canal bridges within the 8 a.m. hour, the city real-time map says.

SDOT has declared several street closures, notably Swift Avenue South from south Beacon Hill to the I-5 interchange; Yesler Way between First Hill and downtown, where sledders have shown up; a busy stretch of Rainier Avenue South just east of Little Saigon; and West Dravus Street that climbs into Magnolia.

To see which streets in your neighborhood the city or county has plowed, check these online maps:

• To see roads in King County, check the county's Winter Weather Response map. Look for blue lines indicating routes that have been plowed and sanded.

• In Seattle, check the Seattle Department of Transportation Storm Response Map. Zoom in and look for blue lines marking routes that have been plowed, with dark blue showing the most recently cleared areas.

• In Snohomish County, see the county’s map here. Look for blue lines to see where streets have been plowed and brown and pink lines to show sanding and anti-icing treatment.

• See Pierce County’s primary snow plow routes here. 

University of Washington campuses are suspending normal operations today because of the snow.

UW's Seattle campus expects to resume normal operations Sunday. UW Bothell and UW Tacoma will suspend operations through the holiday weekend.

Because many university employees are already working remotely, "the potential effect of this temporary suspension of nonessential operations due to weather conditions may be minimized," the UW said in a statement Saturday.

Employees, instructors and students who telework should continue doing so if they can, the university said. Essential campus employees are required to continue working. UW's Medical Center and essential services like housing remain active, said spokesperson Victor Balta. Find more information on UW's website.

Washington State Ferries has canceled a few sailings this snowy Saturday morning and warned customers to prepare for reductions.

Two departures on the Seattle-Bremerton route were already skipped, and the agency has announced the possibility of a "severe weather schedule" for other routes.

Sailings are more than two hours apart, leaving Seattle at 10 a.m., 12:20 p.m., 2:50 p.m., 5:30 pm., 7:50 p.m., and 10:30 p.m., with similar infrequency returning from Bremerton where the last trip back to Seattle is 9 p.m.

As of 8:38 a.m., WSF hasn't curtailed other routes yet.

Slick roads hinder the ability of boat crews to reach the docks, and Coast Guard rules require a certain number of deckhands per passenger. Ferry employees sometimes sleep overnight in simple beds in crew quarters mid-vessel to assure they can make the morning shift.

For that reason, WSF announced "reduced vessel capacity" at 7:32 a.m. for the M/V Kittitas on the Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth triangle, and encouraged travelers to arrive early to assure a space.

The ferry service said it developed severe weather schedules based on experience in the February 2019 snowstorm, and also says it expects fewer drivers at the docks.

Roughly 6 to 8 inches of snow fell overnight throughout the Seattle area, according to preliminary reports to the National Weather Service in Seattle.

The NWS received reports of 6 inches of snow near Bellevue and Kirkland, 7.5 inches in Greenlake, 7 to 7.5 inches near the University of Washington and 6 to 8 inches throughout areas to the south like Olympia, said meteorologist Samantha Borth. 

The snowfall reports are still preliminary and the NWS expects to release more information later Saturday morning. “We’re still getting a lot of reports once everyone started waking up,” Borth said.

On Friday, 2.2 inches of snow fell at SeaTac International Airport, shattering the previous record for that day of 0.2 inches in 1995, according to the NWS.

Saturday morning is expected to bring another 2 to 4 inches across the Puget Sound region, Borth said. The NWS expects snow to taper off in the afternoon, stopping first to the south then to the north. The last places to see flakes stop falling are likely to be areas in Whatcom and Skagit counties, Borth said.

There are scattered power outages in the Puget Sound area, but with more snow and wind expected Saturday, conditions may worsen.

Check Puget Sound Energy's map for an update on outages and expected restoration times.

If you must drive somewhere, check traffic cams first.

A winter storm warning remains in effect until 4 p.m. Saturday.

The National Weather Service says to prepare for heavy snow (2-5 inches) and winds up to 40 miles per hour in portions of west central Washington.

Avoid travel if possible.