Metro Transit is on regular routes in our neighborhood during the evening commute, but is still on snow routes for the East, Southeast and Southwest service areas. However, Metro cautions that snow routes could be implemented in the northern service areas again if the weather warrants it.

Temperatures are forecast to be extremely low overnight throughout King County, so icy roads are expected again Friday morning. Snow routing will likely continue for many bus routes through the day and evening on Friday.

Travel conditions could change quickly, and Metro will provide updates as soon as information can be gathered and confirmed. So, before traveling by bus, check the status for your route before you travel.

People without online access can call the Customer Information Office at (206) 553-3000. General information about service will also be sent out via the kcmetrobus Twitter account.

Expect buses to be crowded and significantly delayed when on snow routes and travel is difficult. Dress warmly for the walk to the bus stop and wear appropriate footwear for the weather.

Also, riders should head for bus stops on main arterials or at major transfer points such as park-and-ride lots, transit centers, or shopping centers. And, wait at stops at the very top or very bottom of hills, because buses are often unable to stop for passengers on icy inclines.

Metro Transit is gearing up for possible snow this afternoon by chaining up buses and planning to move from regular routes to snow routes.

Metro buses will move to snow routing as travel conditions change. When buses move to snow routes, it will be announced through Transit Alerts and on the Metro Online website. Check the status for your route before you travel.

Metro is using an online color-coded map to keep riders informed of the status of its bus service. All bus routes are assigned into one or more of seven geographic areas within King County. When there is snow or ice on the roads, the service status of each area will be color coded and displayed on the online map. Green indicates buses are operating on normal routes; yellow that some – but not all – routes in the area are on snow routes (primarily in higher elevation areas); and red tells you that all bus routes in the entire geographic area are on snow routing.

People without online access can call the Customer Information Office at (206) 553-3000. General information about service will also be sent out via the kcmetrobus Twitter account.

Expect buses to be crowded and significantly delayed when on snow routes and travel is difficult. Also, many people may leave work early today, so take that into consideration in deciding when to travel. Metro encourages people to limit travel if possible if roads become snowy and icy.

Light snow started falling Tuesday afternoon across the neighborhood in a preview of what’s expected Wednesday and into Thursday, according to the weather report. 

Here it starts to blanket the play field at West Woodland Park near the corner of North 59th Street and Phinney Avenue North.

Mayor Mike McGinn put out a press release encouraging people to plan accordingly for a “difficult” Wednesday afternoon commute.

“The latest weather forecasts call for snowfall of 2 to 6 inches beginning Wednesday afternoon, followed by freezing temperatures through the end of the week. That pattern is very similar to the snowstorm that hit Seattle during Thanksgiving week last year. While we learned a lot and made improvements following that storm, it’s impossible to predict exactly where and how this week’s storm will hit hardest.

With that in mind, we are activating the city’s snow and ice plan. The Seattle Department of Transportation began by pre-treating streets with anti-icing solution today. Crews will go to 24-hour work shifts beginning Wednesday morning.

Because Wednesday afternoon’s commute is expected to be difficult, it may be a good day to work an alternate shift, telecommute or make other travel arrangements if possible.”

The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) says that at 4 a.m. Wednesday, 10 snow plows will hit the streets in  North Seattle and another eight plows will work in South Seattle.

Starting at 9 a.m., SDOT will go into a full 24-hour response plan to keep roads open, buses moving and critical emergency services accessible.

The response plan calls for deploying 30 trucks with plows, which will be prepositioned throughout the city in key locations such as elevated structures and certain trouble spots on major arterials. The department starting pre-treating major roadways with salt brine this afternoon in preparation for the storm. Additional details concerning SDOT’s response will be forthcoming as more information about the impending storm becomes available…

As a reminder, property owners are responsible for clearing sidewalks adjacent to their properties after a snowstorm. SDOT encourages residents and businesses to have snow shovels and materials on-hand to keep walkways clear and safe for pedestrians.

Metro is urging bus riders to prepare for possible delays, and advises that you check out its Alert Center for status updates.

• Know the snow routing for your bus route. Check the timetables at Metro Online for snow route maps for each route. Not every bus route has snow routing, but most do.

• When buses are on snow routing, some streets and bus stops may be missed and there are often delays due to travel conditions. There is new snow routing in many areas that is different from past years, so be sure to check the snow routes for all the routes you use most often.

• If you haven’t already, sign up for Transit Alerts to keep up with any major changes to bus service. The alerts can be received as email or text messages. Go to www.kingcounty.gov/metro/snow to subscribe.

• Metro is using a new online color-coded map to keep riders informed of the status of its bus service, which can be found online at: www.kingcounty.gov/metro/snow. All bus routes are assigned into one or more of seven geographic areas within King County. When there is snow or ice on the roads, the service status of each area will be color coded and displayed on the online map. Green indicates buses are operating on normal routes; yellow that some – but not all – routes in the area are on snow routes (primarily in higher elevation areas); and red tells you that all bus routes in the entire geographic area are on snow routing.

• People without online access can call the Customer Information Office at (206) 553-3000. General information about service will also be sent out via the kcmetrobus Twitter account.

• Be patient. Buses are not always on schedule in snowy or icy conditions. And, increased ridership during bad weather can result in crowded buses and a longer-than-usual wait on the phone for the Customer Information Office.

• Dress warmly for the walk to the bus stop, expect delays, and wear appropriate footwear for the weather.

• Head for bus stops on main arterials or at major transfer points such as park-and-ride lots, transit centers, or shopping centers.

• Riders should wait at bus stops at the very top or very bottom of hills, because buses are often unable to stop for passengers on inclines.

And finally, Seattle Public Utilities advises that you put out your garbage, recycling and yard waste like normal Wednesday morning.

If your collection is missed, please leave your materials out for one more day. If your materials still have not been collected by 5 p.m. Thursday, please bring them inside until your next regularly scheduled pickup day.

As forecasters predicted, the snow has turned to rain, converting the overnight snow into a slushy, gloppy mess. It’s a boots and umbrella morning.

For drivers, the roads are covered with slush, but most appear to be passable based on the number of mushy tire tracks in our neighborhood.

Some a.m. impacts

Seattle Public Schools: “As a precaution for the safety of students and staff, Seattle Public Schools will be running two hours late on regular bus routes.” And five schools that had previously scheduled early release days, will release students at the normal dismissal time: Whitman, McClure, Hamilton and Eckstein middle schools, and Roosevelt High School.

King County Metro Buses: Most Metro buses are on snow routes through 9 a.m. due to snowy/slushy roads. Expect some delays. See more route updates here.

Roads: View Phinney and Greenwood-area traffic cams.

Garbage pickup: Seattle Public Utilities says residential garbage, recycling and yard waste pickup will happen today, but some routes may start and end later than usual. So don’t be surprised if you don’t see your usual morning garbage truck until late afternoon.

Seattle Public Utilities says solid waste collection is back on a normal schedule after last week’s snow canceled pickups for two days.

Beginning today, SPU is allowing residents whose containers were not picked up on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday, to put out twice as much garbage and yard waste for no additional fee, as well as all additional recycling (which is free anyway).

When setting out extra waste, customers are encouraged to place perishable food items in their collection containers and set bagged, non-perishable items next to the containers.

Contractors will also attempt to pick up all missed recycling collections this week instead of on their bi-weekly schedule. If recyclables cannot fit into their container, customers can use a paper bag or cardboard box to store the additional items.

To ensure collection, customers should have their containers out by 7 a.m.

Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) will continue to post service updates on www.seattle.gov/util. Customers can also reach SPU for information by calling Customer Service at (206) 684-3000…Follow SPU on Twitter: www.twitter.com/SeattleSPU.

This is by no means a complete list, but here’s what we know about a few neighborhood businesses that are either closed or have altered hours because of the weather, or are having special events. Please let us know what we’ve missed in comments.

Assemble Gallery & Studio at 7406 Greenwood Ave. N. is closed.

Wayward Coffeehouse at 8570 Greenwood Ave. N. remains closed after Monday morning’s fire at the neighboring Rite Zone discount store. Wayward’s still cleaning up from the smoke and water damage and they don’t know yet when they’ll be able to reopen.

The Greenwood Library at 8016 Greenwood Ave. N. is scheduled to be open from 12-5 p.m., as long as enough staff can make it to work. Call 206-684-4086 to make sure it’s open before you head over.

If you can’t make it out to the relatives’ tomorrow for Thanksgiving dinner, Carmelita at 7314 Greenwood Ave. N. still has some early reservations for its prix fixe dinner. And Carmelita is having another snow day special tonight: all night happy hour and kids eat free; 5-10 p.m.

The Shop Agora at 6417-A Phinney Ave. N. is having a “snowed in tasting” all day today, with wine and special Macrina holiday breads and stuffing.

Childish Things, at 10002 Holman Road, plans to be open until at least 4 p.m. today, and says they still have a good selection of snow pants and boots.

As we reported earlier, Seattle Public Utilities will not be picking up garbage, recycling or yard waste today. You can put out twice the normal amount next week.

Tonight is Pay-What-You-Can night at Taproot Theatre, which is presenting ”Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Christmas Carol.” The show starts at 7:30 p.m.; 204 N. 85th St.

Thanks to all our readers for sending in some great snow scene photos.

Lucy sent in this picture of adorable little Ella enjoying the snow.

Lisa says her dog, Motley, loved the snow.

And Daniel sent in two beautiful art shots from his walks around the neighborhood. This truck appears frozen in time.

And the sun really reflects well on this leaf.

Patti sent us this photo of her blooming fuschia.

Seattle Public Utilities won’t be picking up garbage, recycling and yard waste for the second day in a row, because the side streets are too dangerous for its trucks.

Customers whose containers were not collected on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday of this week will have them collected next week on their regularly scheduled pick-up day, and will be allowed to set out double their normal amount of garbage, yard waste and recycling at no additional charge.

When setting out extra waste, customers are encouraged to place perishable food items in their collection containers and set bagged, non-perishable items next to the containers.

On Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, November 25, no garbage, food and yard waste or recycling collections will take place in Seattle. Collections scheduled for Thursday will occur on Friday, and Friday collections will occur on Saturday. Please be sure to have your containers out by 7 a.m. to ensure collection.

Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) will continue to post service updates on www.seattle.gov/util. Customers can also reach SPU for information by calling Customer Service at (206) 684-3000.

Seattle Public Utilities is not picking up garbage, recycling and yard waste today because of dangerous road conditions.

Missed customers will be collected next Tuesday, November 30, and allowed to set out double their normal amount of garbage at no additional charge.

Customers missed Monday, November 22, will be collected next Monday, November 29, and also allowed to set out double their normal amount of garbage at no additional charge.

When setting out extra waste, customers are encouraged to place perishable food items in their collection containers and set bagged, non-perishable items next to the containers.

Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) will continue to post service updates on www.seattle.gov/util. Customers can also reach SPU for information by calling Customer Service at (206) 684-3000.

Follow SPU on Twitter: www.twitter.com/SeattleSPU.

Thanks to readers for sending in some snow pix. Here’s one of Sandel Park’s new playground structure, courtesy of Paul May.

And Heather took this picture last night of what was probably the only unicyclist out in the snow. He’s riding on Phinney Avenue by the Phinney Neighborhood Center.

Please email us your fun snow pictures and we’ll post them later today, after we’ve had our fun playing outside.

Seattle Public Schools are closed today.

The Woodland Park Zoo is closing early at 3 p.m. today.

All branches of the Seattle Public Library, including the Greenwood Library, will open at 1 p.m. today

Metro buses are on snow routes again today. Some routes are cancelled. Route 5 is affected in the Shoreline area. Route 28 is not serving Broadview north of 103rd. Route 44 is cancelled due to snow and ice in the Ballard area. See more Metro bus alerts. If you must ride the bus, dress warm for long waits at stops and even longer rides (my ride home last night was two hours from downtown Seattle to PhinneyWood).

Officials recommend people stay home if at all possible. It’s going to remain cold the next couple days too, according to the National Weather Service:

Today…sunny. Breezy this morning. Highs in the 20s. North wind 15 to 25 mph easing to 10 to 15 mph by midday.

Tonight…mostly clear. Lows 8 to 15. Variable wind to 10 mph.

Wednesday…partly sunny. Highs near 30. South wind to 10 mph.

Wednesday night…mostly cloudy. Lows in the 20s. South wind near 10 mph.

Thanksgiving Day…rain likely…possibly beginning as snow in the morning. Highs in the mid 30s to lower 40s. South wind 10 to 15 mph.

Thursday night…rain likely. Lows in the upper 30s.

 See road closures in your neighborhood, or photos you’d like to share? Use the PhinneyWood Facebook page.

We spotted this on a Phinney Ridge sidewalk this morning. So which camp are you in? Happy or grumpy about the snow?

Woodland Park Zoo says its animals are enjoying the snow day. Here’s a lion.

And here are some of its Humboldt penguins.

The animals are doing just fine in the snow. They have indoor access and heated areas, though many choose to go out and explore the snow anyway. It can be quite enriching.

Zoo photos by Ryan Hawk.