Your guide to Thanksgiving weather, closures and travel
Along with the turkey arrives a lot of side dishes this week: weather, transit, government closures and a stiff chaser for those who imbibe and drive.
WEATHER
A weak weather system will bring rain to the lower areas of Puget Sound and snow to the mountains on Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service.
Precipitation will increase and become heaviest Thursday afternoon and night. Rain will turn into showers on Friday. Winds will also pick up with gusts of 15-25 miles per hour.
With snow at or near pass level, travelers should factor delays in to their travel plans. Snow levels will drop to 3,000 feet by Friday creating hazardous conditions, the Weather Service said.
CITY OF TACOMA
City offices will be closed Thursday and Friday.
Garbage, recycling and yard waste will not be collected on Thanksgiving. Affected customers can expect pick-up on Friday. The Tacoma Recovery and Transfer Center at 3510 S. Mullen St. will be closed on Thursday.
All Tacoma Public Library facilities will be closed on Thursday.
Shoppers’ bonus: There will be no parking enforcement in Tacoma on Thursday and Friday.
POINT DEFIANCE ZOO & AQUARIUM
The zoo and aquarium will be closed Thanksgiving Day but open Friday through Monday from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., with Zoolights opening Friday night. Zoolights runs 5-9 p.m. from Nov. 23 through Jan. 6 with a one-night closure on Dec. 24. Northwest Trek Wildlife Park is closed Thanksgiving Day but open Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
TRANSIT
On Thanksgiving, Pierce Transit’s buses and shuttle vehicles will operate on a Sunday schedule. The schedule returns to normal on Friday.
Sound Transit will run its trains and buses on reduced schedules for Thanksgiving and Black Friday.
On Thursday, Sounder commuter rail will not operate at all. Express bus routes and Link light rail will all operate on a Sunday schedule.
On Friday, Sounder trains will operate on a modified schedule. The first Sounder train from Lakewood leaves at 6:06 a.m., reaching Seattle at 7:22 a.m. A next northbound train departs Lakewood at 10:16 a.m. and an afternoon train departs from Tacoma at 4:06 p.m.
Trains depart from Seattle’s King Street Station for Lakewood at 7:55 a.m., 2:35 p.m. and 5:20 p.m. The 2:35 p.m. train goes only as far as Tacoma.
More holiday schedule information can be found at soundtransit.org/Rider-Guide/Holiday-service.
DUI PATROLS
On Friday, the Washington State Patrol and other police agencies will kick off their annual holiday season DUI emphasis patrols.
“The focus of the increased patrols is to remove impaired drivers and reduce/deter collision causing driving behaviors by increasing the number of officers on our roads,” the State Patrol said in a statement.
This story was originally published November 21, 2018 at 9:17 AM.
