Category: Seattle

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Monday/ more rain ☔

The rain has started again, and there was a failure in the levee alongside the Green River in Tukwila at around 11:30 a.m.

King County emergency officials sent out a warning of ‘life threatening flash flooding’ for the nearby low-lying area of some 46,000 residents.
There were no injuries as a result of the breach, though. Soon thereafter the area under threat was narrowed down and involved only about 1,100 people, who were urged to evacuate.
The county’s flash flood warning ended by 6.30 pm.

A crew moves sandbags into a gap where a levee was breached along the Green River in Tukwila on Monday, Dec. 15, 2025.
From the Seattle Times:
Repairs were underway for the breached levee and were expected to be done Monday evening, said John Taylor, director of the county’s Department of Natural Resources and Parks. But the risk isn’t over. Whole sections of the levees were soaked through after more than a week of heavy rain and high river levels. Already other spots were seeing water seeping through, and county officials expected to monitor the structure through the coming days, with even more rain in the forecast.
[Photo by Ellen M. Banner / The Seattle Times]
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Sunday/ The Nutcracker, at large 🎄

From the ‘At Home in the Northwest’ supplement to the Seattle Times
[Photo by Jiajing Grygriel]
From the ‘At Home in the Northwest’ supplement to the Seattle Times
[Photo by Jiajing Grygriel]
Jiajing Grygriel writes for this Sunday’s ‘At Home in the Northwest’ supplement to the Seattle Times:

The mail carrier slows his van down to a crawl and gapes. “Is that you folks’ statue?” he hollers out the window. “This is amazing. I love it so much!”

A jaw drop is the typical response for people passing by this storybook home in Ballard. The 1936 house looks straight out of the pages of a fairy tale, with its steeply pitched roof, rustic stone chimney and turreted entryway.

During the holiday season, it’s decked out in Nutcracker figures designed by Maurice Sendak, of “Where the Wild Things Are” fame.

Pacific Northwest Ballet commissioned Sendak to design original art for “The Nutcracker,” which ran from 1983 to 2014.

It was Seattle’s own wild rumpus, a one-of-a-kind “Nutcracker” production.

A 15-foot-tall figurine stands at the end of the driveway. In the front yard and on the deck are three small nutcrackers and two rats – and by small, we mean 8 feet tall.

Three original Sendak ornaments hang in a nearby tree.

It’s the 11th year John Carrington and Scott McElhose have displayed the Sendak Nutcracker at their home, on the corner of Golden Garden Drive and Loyal Avenue Northwest in Ballard.

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Thursday/ the waterfall roars 💦

Here are updated pictures of the Snoqualmie Falls from the Seattle Times.
The Snoqualmie river was at major flooding level for much of Wednesday and Thursday.

Visitors to Snoqualmie Falls get soaked by a steady mist kicked up from raging Snoqualmie River waters Thursday morning.
[Photo by Ken Lambert for The Seattle Times. Caption from The Seattle Times]
Snoqualmie Falls roars on Thursday.
[Photo by Nick Wagner for The Seattle Times. Caption from The Seattle Times]

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Monday/ a lot of rain ☂️

Kai Uyehara and Paige Cornwell write for the Seattle Times: 

The opening salvo of a major atmospheric river hit the Pacific Northwest on Monday, drenching much of Western Washington with heavy rain that is forecast to continue at least until Thursday.
The National Weather Service warned of a high risk of widespread and significant river flooding.
South of Puget Sound, the Puyallup, Nisqually, Cowlitz and Carbon rivers were already seeing waters about to spill over their banks by 7 p.m. Monday, with serious flooding expected within hours.

Post by National Weather Service Seattle @NWSSeattle on X.
Even though we are in somewhat of a rain shadow here in the city, 2-3 inches over 3 days is still a lot of rain.

People visit Snoqualmie Falls, which is raging, on a rainy Monday, Dec. 8, 2025, in Snoqualmie. The area is under flood risk.
[Photo by Ken Lambert / The Seattle Times]
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Sunday/ a little architecture tour 🏢

I braved the cold wind outside to do a little self-directed architecture tour on First Hill today.
I wanted to take a look at the The Graystone Seattle on Columbia Avenue and the Museum House complex with its twin towers.

The Graystone at 800 Columbia St was actually built in 2021 (how time flies). It has 31 stories and 271 units. This is the view from the parking lot on 8th Avenue, looking northeast. (On the right, just a block or so away, is the Museum House complex with its twin towers).
Now I am on Columbia Street, walking up hill. I should have taken a picture without the tree! but there is a waterfall feature on the right that obscures the street view into the condo’s gym somewhat. There are several other amenities of course, such as a rooftop deck and meeting rooms and all that.
Here’s the view of the downtown skyline, looking towards the west. Interstate 5 is close by, but at a much lower level which dampens any traffic noise one might hear.
Now walking to the Museum House complex on Terry Avenue.
This apartment building opened in March, and features a north tower and a south tower, each with 32 stories. It offers 506 rental units.
Looking up at the main facade of the building. The skybridge is all the way up on Floor 31.
First Hill has several hospitals and buildings with clinics and doctors’ offices inside. This is Cabrini Center on Boren Avenue, completed in 1973 with 18 towers.
St. James Cathedral is a Catholic cathedral located at 804 Ninth Avenue. It was dedicated in 1907.
All right. The sun is going to set soon and I am heading to the waterfront.
Here’s a look at the traffic on I-5 (looking south).
Beautiful colors reflected by the windows of the Crowne Plaza hotel in downtown. The hotel was completed in 1980 and has 18 floors.
Seattle’s weird library with its faceted frames of glass and steel has 11 floors. It opened in May 2004 to the public.
Further south along 4th Avenue is the Columbia Tower, at 76 stories still the tallest structure in the state of Washington. (Getting squeezed out of view from here a little bit by the F5 Tower in front of it that opened in 2017).
Heading down to the waterfront now. It’s good that I snapped this picture of the sun behind the clouds, because it was gone for the day just a few minutes later.
Seattle has 33 fire stations and the one on the waterfront is No 5. The original Fire Station No. 5 building opened here at this location in 1902.
Here are the first cars rolling onto the Walla Walla ferry at Colman Dock (Seattle Ferry Terminal), for its departure to Bremerton.
Look at the windsock and choppy water: there is a strong breeze.
On my way back to the G-line bus stop. Here is “What Goes Up Must Come Down” — the giant paddle-ball sculpture by Catherine Mayer at 2nd Avenue and Spring St. It is about 42 feet tall and made of fiberglass and steel.
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Saturday/ blustery 🌬️

There was a break in the rainy weather today here in the city— with a powder blue sky, a little late afternoon sun, and blustery conditions.

Looking south along 19th Avenue East by Stevens Elementary School (3.10 pm with sunset coming at 4.18 pm).
The leaves are all gone now, on the trees that line the street.
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Friday/ AI embellishments 🦍

Happy Friday.
I embellished some of my pictures from last Sunday with Google’s new Gemini 3 (“Nano Banana Pro”) image editor.

It is as easy as saying “Add Bigfoot (Sasquatch) crossing the street into this picture”.
(The Cybertruck in the last picture was real, and not added).

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Thursday/ the year’s last supermoon 🌕

Tonight the last supermoon* of the year— and the third in a consecutive sequence— is out. (There will be a fourth supermoon in this same celestial series in January 2026).

We have cloud cover and lots of rain here in the city in Seattle tonight, so for now I can only look for pictures of the supermoon online.

*A supermoon is a full moon that occurs when the Moon is at or near its closest point to Earth in its elliptical orbit, a point called perigee. This proximity makes the Moon appear slightly brighter and larger than an average full moon, although the difference may be difficult to notice with the naked eye. The term can also technically apply to a new moon, but it is typically associated with the visible full moon.
[Google AI Overview]

A supermoon, the last full moon of the year, rises behind the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025, in San Francisco. This one is called the Cold Moon.
[Associated Press Photo/ Godofredo A. Vásquez]
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Tuesday/ frosty mornings 🧣

I thought it too cold to go for a walk today—44°F (6°C)— then changed my mind at the last minute before dark.

It’s 4.00 pm on the nose, and I’m on 22nd Avenue East looking out towards the east. Sunset is 19 minutes away. There’s the moon in a bare sky, not quite full. (The full moon on Thursday will be the Cold Moon.) No cloud cover means temperatures will dip down close to 0°C in the early morning.
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Saturday/ cloudy and cold ☁️

The sun wasn’t out today, and it was a cold fall day here in the city.
The low this morning was 38°F (3°C) and the high 52°F (11 °C).

Here’s looking out to the Olympic Mountains at 3.26 pm today from my usual spot on the corner of 14th Ave East and East Thomas St on Capitol Hill.
It looks like the Christmas lights (cables with lights) are up, on top of the Space Needle.
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Wednesday/ leaving the California sun ☀

It was time to go home today, and I took a flight on Alaska Airlines from Palm Springs airport to Seattle.

Pictures:
The (somewhat unusual) courtyard inside the secure area at Palm Springs airport;
Allegiant Air getting ready to fly out to Bellingham airport in Washington State;
Stepping on board my own flight— a Boeing 737-900 (twin-jet) from Alaska Airlines;
The Flighty app replaced the airplane with a flying turkey— a nod to Thanksgiving, of course;
Arrived at Seattle, got my checked bag, walked the half-mile to the light rail station, and here comes the train (look for the Mountain that is out, through one of the glass panes);
Utility poles and power cables on the way;
Views of the stations called SODO, Pioneer Square, Symphony and Westlake.

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Sunday/ rainy weekend ☔

There was light rain on and off all weekend here in the city, and a little fog in the Seattle’s low-lying areas this morning. Some trees still have leaves on, but a lot have now shed it all.

Elsewhere in Washington State, in the Yakima River Basin, the severe drought conditions continue. Conrad Swanson writes for the Seattle Times ‘This might be the driest year in recent memory, fresh on the heels of severe droughts last year and the year before’.

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Tuesday/ Veterans Day 🇺🇸

Happy Veterans Day to all veterans of the United States Armed Forces.

Sunset tonight (now at 4.37 pm), from my vantage point on the Melrose Avenue overlook near Interstate 5. The Stars and Stripes (the American flag) flies from the Space Needles’s flagpole.
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Thursday/ more rain ☔

There was more rain today (another inch or so).
I ventured outside with my umbrella before the gray outside tuned into black.

Here’s Republican Street and 15th Avenue East on Capitol Hill. The holiday lights on the trees are on already, to bring a little cheer to the gray outside.
Looking down Thomas Street at 12th Avenue. The red beacon light is already blinking on the Space Needle’s flag post .. and is that an S on the flag? I wondered.
And here’s the answer: yes, it’s an S for Seattle Torrent, the name for Seattle’s new women’s ice hockey team. They will play in Climate Pledge Arena. The eight teams in the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) are the Boston Fleet, Minnesota Frost, Montréal Victoire, New York Sirens, Ottawa Charge, Seattle Torrent, Toronto Sceptres, and Vancouver Goldeneyes.
[Picture posted on Space Needle’s Instagram, but without any names]
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A wet Wednesday ️🌧️

It rained on and off all day, and about 1.2 in (30 mm) was recorded here in the city the last 24 hours by late Wednesday night.

Here’s 2.45 in downtown/ South Lake Union.
I’m about to turn right onto Westlake Avenue to go to Wholefoods Market. Free parking in their garage when it rains outside is nice to have.
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Sunday/ along Columbia Street ️️🏙️

I took the G Line bus to the waterfront, and walked back up along Columbia Street in downtown Seattle to take a few pictures.
The tallest building in Seattle is on Columbia Street: the 76-story Columbia Center, which rises 937 feet (286 m) and was completed in 1985.

I went back to the waterfront to watch the sun set.
Sunset is now at 4.49 pm.

Blue skies and golden leaves on the way to the G Line bus stop on 17th Avenue E and Madison Street.
The view an hour or so before sunset from the Marion Street Ferry Walkway, looking north along Alaskan Way.
There’s the Columbia Center, reflected on the marble wall by First Avenue.
The Columbia Center (1985, 76 stories) is in the middle of the picture, with the Seattle Municipal Tower (1990, 57 stories). 
On the right is the Pacific Building (1971, 22 stories).
A closer look at the Columbia Center.
There goes the last of the leaves on the gingko tree at 215 Columbia Street.
This building was originally the Seattle Chamber of Commerce Building (1924), and is now the Northwest Title Insurance Company Building (since 2007).
The Net, formerly known as The Marion, is a planned high-rise office building. In its current design iteration, it is to be 36 stories tall.
Six skyscrapers in one picture.
Clockwise from the top right corner: the Columbia Center (1985), the Seattle Municipal Tower (1990), the F5 Tower (2017), 901 Fifth Avenue (1973), Fourth and Madison Building (2002), DocuSign Tower (1983).
Buildings close to Alaskan Way by the waterfront. I like the pastel colors reflected in the window panes facing the setting sun.
Sunset with the Seattle Ferry Terminal (Colman Dock, Pier 52) on the left.
The ferry is the Kaleetan, getting ready to depart for Bainbridge Island.
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Friday/ it’s Halloween 👻

Happy Friday and happy Halloween.
We have 50°F (10°C) and a steady rain here— early evening in Seattle’s Capitol Hill.
In spite of that, the trick-or-treaters (and their parents for the young ones) were out in full force at 5.30 pm, with umbrellas and rain coats.