Seattle City Light crews restored power by 8:30 p.m. Monday to all 11,000 homes and businesses that were affected by power outages from a morning wind storm. Sustained winds of up to 40 mph with gusts approaching 60 mph knocked down trees, which fell into power lines breaking poles, wires and transformers. The hardest hit […]
Seattle City Light crews were responding to scattered power outages affecting more than 11,000 customers as a wind storm blew through the Puget sound region early Monday morning. Initial estimates for restoration were set for 11 a.m. Updates are available online at City Light’s outage map, www.seattle.gov/light/sysstat . Seattle City Light is the 10th largest […]
Strong winds are predicted to blow through the Puget Sound area late Sunday night and into Monday morning, which could cause power outages. Seattle City Light encourages its customers to prepare for this possibility.
Are you ready for storm season? Every household should have an emergency preparedness kit with at least a three-day supply of non-perishable food and water. To encourage residents to prepare for winter, we want to see what you have in your kit. Send us a picture of the most creative item in your emergency kit: whether it’s […]
As millions of people in the northeast remain living without power, we are reminded of the importance of disaster preparedness. Ross Reynolds talks with emergency preparedness training specialist, Debbie Goetz, about what to have in your disaster preparedness kit. Find out more on KUOW.ORG
Power has been restored power to all but 43 customers from a 6 a.m. outage affecting 2,892 customers in Burien, SeaTac, and Riverton-Boulevard Park. The outage was caused by a tree landing on wires in the 15500 block of Second Avenue South. An earlier press release incorrectly said that it was the result of a […]
Seattle City Light Crews have restored power to 1,331 customers from a 6 a.m. outage affecting 2,892 customers in Burien, SeaTac, and Riverton-Boulevard Park. The outage was caused by a vehicle running into a pole. The estimated time for restoration is 10 a.m. The outage started at 6 a.m. For precise outage boundaries, visit our […]
Seattle City Light crews have restored power to 3,363 customers in the Montlake and Eastlake neighborhoods. The brief outage was caused by a branch touching wires during a clearing operation. For current outage information, see our map at seattle.gov/light. Seattle City Light is the 10th largest public electric utility in the United States. It has […]
Seattle City Light crews restored power Tuesday afternoon to all customers affected by a power outage in the Rainier View and West Hill neighborhoods of Seattle along with Skyway, and parts of Renton and Tukwila.
Seattle City Light crews were responding to a power outage in the Rainier View and West Hill neighborhoods of Seattle along with Skyway, and parts of Rentonand Tukwila on Tuesday afternoon.
Are you ready for storm season? Every household should have an emergency preparedness kit with at least a three-day supply of non-perishable food and water. To encourage residents to prepare for winter, we want to see what you have in your kit. Send us a picture of the most creative item in your emergency kit: […]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 11/20/2012
Rain gauge data shows Monday’s storm clobbered Northwest Seattle
City’s Crown Hill rain gauge recorded nearly 2 inches in 6-hour period
Map caption: Seattle RainWatch image shows band of heavy rainfall (up to 0.5 inches in an hour) headed towards NW Seattle around noon today.
SEATTLE — An analysis of Monday’s storm shows northwest parts of the city had “extraordinary” rainfall — as much 1.96 inches in 6 hours.
“It was a pretty big storm for most of the city — lots of rain in a relatively short amount of time,” said Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) meteorologist James Rufo-Hill. “But if you live in Ballard, Crown Hill, Phinney Ridge, Magnolia or Broadview, there was historic rainfall — you really got drenched.”
Rufo-Hill said SPU’s Crown Hill rain gauge recorded 2.62 inches of rain during the 12-hour period and 1.96 inches in the 6 hours from 6:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.— which he called “an extraordinary rain event.”
The 12-hour average for the rest of the city was 2.27 inches.
Rufo-Hill’s map-based analysis of the storm, was informed by data from 8 of SPU’s 17 rain gauges, which are distributed throughout the city.
Learn more about Seattle Public Utilities.
Follow SPU on Twitter.
In addition to providing a reliable water supply to more than 1.3 million customers in the Seattle metropolitan area, SPU provides essential sewer, drainage, solid waste and engineering services that safeguard public health, maintain the City’s infrastructure and protect, conserve and enhance the region’s environmental resources.
—SPU—
Crews have restored power to all but 120 customers affected by an outage earlier this afternoon. The 1:33 p.m, outage was caused by a tree touching power lines. It originally cut power to about 4,000 customers. For precise outage boundaries, visit our outage map at https://www.seattle.gov/light. Seattle City Light is the 10th largest public electric […]
November isn’t just the beginning of the holiday season, it’s Preparedness Month. As we get ready to celebrate the holidays with our friends and families, it is also important to remember to locate and evaluate emergency preparedness kits. If you don’t have an emergency preparedness kit, it’s time to get… [ Keep reading ]
Seattle City Light crews are working to restore power to more than 4,000 customers affected by an outage in North Queen Anne, Discovery Park, and Fremont.
The wettest period of the year is here. Mayor Mike McGinn joins the The Take Winter By Storm campaign to offer tips on how to clean your gutters and clear storm drains in your neighborhood. Take Winter By Storm is a collaborative, public-private effort spanning Western Washington to raise community awareness of hazardous weather and […]
Number one priority is safety: stay out of street when raking drains With a significant rainfall this week, Seattle Public Utilities is urging residents to adopt their local drains, and make sure they are free of leaves and debris. When bad weather hits this time of year, storm drains can easily become overwhelmed with leaves […]
Did you know that during intense rain, flooding may occur without warning? Here are a few steps you can take to keep your family and property safe. Clear leaves and debris away from street drains in your neighborhood with a rake or broom (only if it’s safe). Don’t put grass clippings, leaves, or other debris […]
Each winter, homes are damaged due to water pipes that freeze and burst. By taking a few simple precautions, you can help save yourself from the mess, money and headaches of burst frozen pipes. Before the Cold Hits Insulate pipes in your home’s crawl spaces, basement and attic. Exposed pipes are more susceptible to freezing. The more […]
Seattle City Light crews restored service to all customers affected by this morning’s power outage in West Seattle’s Gatewood neighborhood. The outage was due to the failure of an underground power cable.
Seattle City Light crews are restoring power to homes and businesses in West Seattle’s Gatewood neighborhood. Up 3,257 customers were originally without power due to an underground equipment failure. Approximately, 725 customers remain without power. The estimated time of restoration for all customers is 7:45 a.m., today, Sunday, November 11.
There is a power outage in West Seattle’s Gatewood neighborhood. Cause is under investigation. Crews are responding.
Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) offers a limited number of free, filled sandbags during the fall months to households or business owners in flood-prone areas. If you’ve had or almost had flooding, consider using sandbags. Sandbags don’t seal out water, but can help redirect the flow of water and protect property from debris. Sandbags must be […]
Mayor Mike McGinn today encouraged residents to begin making annual preparations for the possibility of winter weather-related emergencies and updated the public on how the City is preparing for winter storms. McGinn described online tools available to the public to help them track storms and their impact on City services. He also described efforts the […]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 11/1/2012
Mayor outlines Seattle’s winter storm preparedness efforts
Describes online tools available to help public prepare for winter weather
SEATTLE – Mayor Mike McGinn today encouraged residents to begin making annual preparations for the possibility of winter weather-related emergencies and updated the public on how the City is preparing for winter storms. McGinn described online tools available to the public to help them track storms and their impact on City services. He also described efforts the City is taking to help support storm recovery on the East Coast.
“Whether it’s heavy rain, snow and ice, or strong winds, winter weather can cause significant disruption to our lives and our economy. Now is the time to start to prepare for storms, and the City is here to help support the public as they get ready for winter,” McGinn said.
McGinn also described online tools available to the public to help them prepare and cope with winter weather. Seattle Public Utilities’ Rainwatch program – developed in partnership with UW meteorologists Cliff Mass and Phil Regulski – tracks storms and forecasts rain at the neighborhood level, providing the region’s most accurate and precise weather tracking and forecasting system. Our program Snowwatch uses data from Rainwatch, combined with temperature trends, to estimate and predict snowfall. Seattle City Light’s Windwatch provides the same function for forecasting of high winds, and their Outage Map tracks power outages across Seattle. McGinn also highlighted the Seattle Department of Transportation’s Winter Weather Response Map, which helps residents plan trips based on traffic cameras and real-time information about where our snow ploys are deployed.
“The single biggest thing that Seattleites can do to help prevent urban flooding is to clean leaves out of street drains,” said Seattle Public Utilities director Ray Hoffman.
There are several ways that residents can help their families and the City respond to disruptions, including loss of power, during winter storms:
Complete checklists are available at www.takewinterbystorm.org. Tips for what to do when the power goes out are available at https://seattle.gov/light/neighborhoods/nh4_pout.htm.
In the event of snow and ice, the Seattle Department of Transportation has 30 snowplows of various sizes and configurations, 10 plow only trucks for use during heavy accumulation, and 4 anti-icing vehicles available. They have trained an operator pool within the City utilities and parks departments to cover all shifts. SDOT currently have 3,800 tons of granular salt & 47,000 gallons anti-icing storage capacity, roughly three times more granular salt storage than last season. 11 new roadway surface temperature sensors have been purchased and are being installed to help SDOT improve their ability to deploy resources as needed.
In addition to helping Seattle City Light customers prepare themselves for power outages, in the six years since the December 2006 windstorm that knocked out half of their distribution system, City Light has reorganized its storm response procedures. They have installed a computerized outage management system to coordinate restoration work and customer communications; and increased tree trimming to avoid outages from branches coming into contact with power lines. In 2012, City Light cleared more than 600 line miles of trees from power lines. Since 2007 the utility has cleared 2375 line miles. Since 2007, City Light has added 100 line workers and re-instated their apprenticeship programs.
“Our crews are ready to respond and restore service as quickly and as safely as possible, but it is always important for each of us to be prepared for a power outage,” Seattle City Light Superintendent Jorge Carrasco said.
Seattle Public Utilities crews work year round to get ready for storm season. By the end of this summer, the crews had pumped out over 4,300 catch basins and inspected over 25,000. They had inspected 85 miles of pipes and cleaned more than 164 miles of pipes.
SPU is also preparing its Urban Flood Response Plan. When activated, the utility puts field crews on alert, and stages flood control equipment at various locations around the city. SPU deploys volunteer storm observers to monitor various flood-prone areas, freeing up crews to do the work they need to do such as clearing drains. Regular City crews can be called in if needed for assistance.
More information:
Rainwatch: https://www.atmos.washington.edu/SPU/
Snowwatch: https://www.atmos.washington.edu/SNOWWATCH/
Windwatch: https://www.atmos.washington.edu/SCL/
Outage map: https://www.seattle.gov/light/sysstat/
Winter weather response map: https://web1.seattle.gov/sdot/winterweathermap/
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 10/30/2012
Are You Prepared for Landslides?
Rainfall gauge exceeds landslide threshold
SEATTLE — Did you know that most landslides occur between the months of October and April? And that 86 percent of landslides are caused to some extent by human activity? Landslide season is upon us. Today the USGS rain gauge used to anticipate the likelihood of landslides in the area moved about the threshold, meaning some level of landslide activity is likely in the coming days. The City of Seattle urges residents to take preventive measures to protect themselves and their property from possible landslides.
Landslide experts agree there is not one single factor that contributes to landslides in the area, but in most cases there are steps that property owners can take to mitigate risk.
With 20,000 Seattle properties (mostly residential) in landslide-prone areas, the
City of Seattle and the Take Winter By Storm campaign encourage property owners to take preventive measures to protect themselves from landslides, and learn more about how to manage hillside property by attending a free landslide awareness meeting.
2012 City of Seattle Landslide Awareness Meeting – November 10.
The free landslide awareness meeting will give the public the opportunity to consult with public/private landslide experts and learn simple preventive measures that will help protect them from future landslides, such as the following:
2012 City of Seattle Landslide Awareness Meeting
The landslide awareness meeting will include a presentation that discusses the causes of landslides, proper drainage for sloping sites, and vegetation maintenance on slopes. The presentation will be followed by a question and answer session and time for one-on-one discussions with professionals in the field, including the City of Seattle, and volunteers from The American Society for Civil Engineers, The Association of Engineering Geologists, The International Society of Arboriculture, and Associated Building Contractors.
Nov. 10, 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Northgate Community Center
Multipurpose Room
10510 5th Ave. NE
(across from Northgate Mall)
Seattle Landslides
The landslide record that was documented in the Seattle Landslide Study of 2000 indicates that 86 percent of landslides that have occurred in the city have some human influence such as excavating and filling on steep slopes, broken pipes and uncontrolled storm water.
Since the devastating landslide season of 1996/1997, which involved over 300 reported landslides, the city has taken steps to prepare and respond to slides by constructing mitigation projects to reduce the potential for future slides. It has also been presenting these public landslide awareness meetings for owners of landslide-prone property.
If a landslide damages your property and you have an immediate concern for your safety, leave the premises and call 9-1-1. Seattle property owners with structures that may be affected by or endangered by a landslide should contact a geotechnical professional for structural evaluation.
To view the current conditions of the USGS rainfall threshold for landslides, please visit: https://landslides.usgs.gov/monitoring/seattle/rtd/plot.php.
For more information about Seattle landslides and the City of Seattle free landslide awareness meetings, please visit: www.seattle.gov/dpd/emergency/landslides.
Take Winter By Storm is a regional campaign aimed at helping citizens and businesses get prepared before bad weather strikes. Learn more at: www.takewinterbystorm.org.
Work on the Seattle Municipal Tower electrical system has been completed ahead of schedule. The City’s website and online applications are up and running and no longer impacted by this maintenance work. Customer Service Bureau The Customer Service Bureau is closed for the Labor Day holiday. You can leave a… [ Keep reading ]
Seattle Public Utilities and Seattle City Light customers will be able to make utility bill payments online, including ebilling, while maintenance work affecting the City’s data center is being completed from August 31 to September 4. The only feature that will be unavailable to customers during this time is the… [ Keep reading ]
City of Seattle Partial Data Center Shutdown Anticipated Impacts to Online Applications Updated as of August 31, 2012 Timeline Recent work on the electrical system has increased alternate power to the data center, lessening the impacts on the City’s online applications. The electrical maintenance work on the Data Center’s primary… [ Keep reading ]
Due to maintenance work in the Seattle Municipal Tower over Labor Day weekend, City web services may be impacted from Friday, August 31 until Tuesday, September 4. We apologize for any inconvenience this outage may cause and urge you to plan in advance.
