Hundreds of thousands out of power in Washington state; blizzard warning continues
Published in News & Features
SEATTLE — A storm brought high winds and heavy rain to Western Washington overnight into Wednesday, leaving more than 200,000 customers in the dark after days of flooding.
Wind speeds reached the 50s and 60s in Seattle and surrounding areas early Wednesday: In the Alpental Ski Area, 112 mph gusts were recorded around 2 a.m., and Snoqualmie Pass saw 82 mph wind speeds.
As of 6 a.m., about 142,000 Puget Sound Energy customers had lost power. Whidbey Island was entirely in a blackout, as were residents in the Mount Vernon area.
Island, Pierce, Skagit and Thurston counties experienced the bulk of the outages, according to PSE. The utility stated that it's brought in additional crews from outside the region to assist in restoring service.
In Snohomish County, about 54,000 customers were without power.
Seattle escaped mostly unscathed: Fewer than 200 customers, mostly in North Seattle, had lost power as of 6 a.m. On Tuesday, 16,000 North Seattle customers spent hours in the dark due to an equipment failure.
People should remain in the lower levels of their home during the windstorm and avoid windows. If you must drive, use caution.
The storm intensified already saturated soil conditions, increasing landslide risk and causing some trees to fall.
White Pass was closed Wednesday morning due to numerous fallen trees over the roadway. Both directions of Highway 12 were blocked to traffic for 48 miles from Packwood to the Oak Creek Feeding Station near Naches. There is no estimated reopening time, says the Washington State Department of Transportation.
Live power lines fell into the roadway on Interstate 5 near JBLM, closing a portion of the highway for about two hours. In Seattle, WSDOT crews cleared water from the roadway to reopen southbound I-5 express lanes.
Highway 101, near Hoodsport in Mason County, was closed until further notice due to a mudslide. WSDOT said an engineering geologist would evaluate the area for next steps. There are no alternate routes.
Travelers in Palouse in Eastern Washington were asked to use extreme caution through the area, according to WSDOT, with winds gusts of 80 mph possible.
The high winds were expected to ease throughout Wednesday morning.
There is also a blizzard warning in the mountains. At Paradise at Mount Rainier, the temperature fell 6 degrees in an hour, according to the National Weather Service, reaching 27 degrees with a 71 mph wind gust. In Seattle Wednesday night, there is a chance for a rain-snow mix to move into the area.
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