Summary

Snowfall is in the forecast in parts of King County for Monday evening, and the King County Department of Transportation urges Metro Transit customers and water taxi riders, as well as people who travel unincorporated county roads, to monitor weather conditions and plan for possible travel delays.

Story

Some buses might chain Monday night, crews on standby to plow roads

Snowfall is in the forecast in parts of King County for Monday evening, and the King County Department of Transportation urges Metro Transit customers and water taxi riders, as well as people who travel unincorporated county roads, to monitor weather conditions and plan for possible travel delays.

At the moment, a National Weather Service winter weather advisory is in effect for north of Seattle and east to Bellevue. Metro Transit continues to monitor weather conditions as they evolve and crews are prepared to adjust service where needed.

In areas where snow accumulates Monday night, Metro is prepared to chain buses for routes and trips after 8 p.m. Riders might see chained buses traveling outside of snow areas depending on their assigned routes.

Buses might also shift to snow routes as needed, or coordinate with special shuttles equipped with tire chains to connect riders in hilly or difficult-to-access areas with transit service on major corridors. If Metro activates snow routes, email and text transit alert subscribers will receive notifications and information will be posted to Metro’s Snow and Ice page.

Overnight, Metro will monitor weather conditions and determine what routes require chains for the Tuesday morning commute.

Earlier Monday, Metro made changes to its trolley fleet operations as a precaution. Articulated 60-foot-long buses are the workhorses of Metro’s fleet, however the 60-foot-long articulated electric trolley buses were temporarily grounded due to the expected inclement weather – a regular measure for Metro with its trolley fleet due to difficulty operating in snow conditions. Some bus trips were temporarily canceled Monday morning and afternoon in order to shift buses to serve those electric trolley routes. Metro will continue to evaluate when it is safest to return the 60-foot-long articulated electric trolley fleet to service depending on weather conditions in Seattle.

For weather and route information

• King County’s My Commute page is a resource for monitoring the status of roads, and information is available on the county roads’ snow response page. 
• Metro Transit riders can review timetables and the transit adverse weather page for snow route information. 
• Regional updates will be posted on the King County Emergency blog.

Department of Transportation divisions

Road Services crews are on rotation and available to sand and plow mapped snow routes. Call the 24/7 Roads Helpline to report road traffic safety issues in unincorporated King County, such as downed stop signs, malfunctioning signals or trees over the roadway. The 24/7 Helpline: 206-477-8100 or 1-800-527-6237 (1-800-KC-ROADS). The Snow and Ice page has more information.

Metro Transit supervisors are staffing the agency’s control center, actively monitoring the forecast and will respond to changing weather conditions in the event they affect roads across King County. As weather conditions continue to develop, Metro customers are urged to familiarize themselves with the planned snow route for their regular bus.

Water Taxi crews are prepared to respond to icy conditions should they develop at the docks served by the water taxi, which currently operates weekday service.

Airport personnel monitor airfield conditions, including during periods of very cold temperatures and possible snow. Crews recently began weekly coordinated snow-removal practice runs and are prepared to remove snow from the runways when needed.

Resources for travelers

• Sign up for Metro Transit Alerts (text, email, tweets via @kcmetrobus, see RSS feed via desktop or mobile RSS reader)
• Sign up for King County Road Alerts (text, email, tweets via @kcroads)
• Sign up for King County Water Taxi Alerts (text, email)
• Visit the King County My Commute page
• Visit the Eye on Your Metro Commute (blog during peak weekday commutes)