Downtown Seattle and the Blizzard of 2012

Yes, the blizzard.

Look, if uber-legitimate, accountable corporate media is allowed to sensationalize, then why can’t I?

I just headed over to Westlake Park to see how accurate my snow prediction was, and low and behold, I wasn’t far off.

Yesterday, I put my hypothetical money on 1.89″ of snow, and when I measured at 2:15 this afternoon (just after the snow stopped falling), I got a self-measured total of a bit more than 1 1/2 inches in an uninterrupted patch of snow on level ground in the middle of Westlake Park.

Take that, Cliff Mass!

Anyway …

For the most part, Downtown was empty. There were one or two cars each light cycle, and a few dozen pedestrians, but for Downtown Seattle in the middle of the day, such numbers qualify as abandoned.

Given the relative lack of snow totals, I was actually surprised by just how poor the condition of the streets were. While the numbered avenues are more or less fine, portions of major thoroughfares such as Pike and Pine are still hampered by slush/snow/ice. Once the sun goes down, this stuff is going to glaze over and become a real hazard.

I don’t want to be yet another Captain Obvious (King 5 says “experts” advise wearing a coat in cold weather!), but if you can avoid driving anywhere near the core, you really should. Being somewhat of a Chicken Little skeptic, I was thinking about taking a spin around Seattle today, but after my hour-long walk, I decided against it. The risk/reward just is not there, and if mother streets like Pike are not clear, imagine what the streets on Queen Anne Hill look like.

All in all, a great day to stay home.

My guess is that tomorrow will be back to normal in Central Seattle, but this day is a write-off.

Enjoy the unplanned holiday.