Worst of storm is over, but effects – flooding, canceled flights and power outages – will linger

Rain and rising temperatures today are beginning to melt the ice and snow that hammered the South Sound this week.

That’s little comfort to the hundreds of thousands of people still without electricity after the ice storm that downed trees and power lines across Pierce, Thurston and South King counties Thursday.

Washington State Patrol troopers have closed both Tacoma Narrows bridges this afternoon because of large ice chunks falling onto the bridge deck.

Trooper Guy Gill reports that an assessment of the bridges will be done before he knows when they will be reopened.

Staff photographer Joe Barrentine reports the bridge is surrounded in fog. Every couple of minutes, you can hear a large crash onto the bridge deck. More details here.

Power outages and dangerous conditions have closed most schools for a third day in the region.

And officials with the National Weather Service in Seattle raised the specter of possible flooding in the coming days, though the chances of a major flood appear low.

Puget Sound Energy estimated the storm knocked out power to more than 230,000 customers in Western Washington, and officials with the ­Bellevue-based utility warned it could be three or four days until all service is restored.

The Seattle Times reports that Puget Sound Energy crews restored power to 87,000 overnight but tens of thousands remain in the dark. The utility had 20 crews working overnight. One hundred crews will be out at daybreak, with more teams arriving later in the day.

As of noon Tacoma Power reported about 2,600 customers do not have power: 1,125 in the Roy, Graham and Elk Plain areas; 930 in the Midland Area; 200 in Puyallup; 100 in University Place.

Portions of East Pierce County and the Key Peninsula were especially hard hit as a thick coat of ice covered already snow-laden branches, dragging limbs and, in some case, whole trees to the ground. Peninsula Light Co. is dealing with outages impacting more than 3,000 on both Peninsulas.

“Right now, it’s more of a question of where there’s not damage,” said Roger Thompson, a spokesman for Puget Sound Energy.

The utility called in crews from California, Utah and Canada to augment more than 100 crews already working in the region, Thompson said. The utility said an additional 140 crews were expected to join the restoration effort in the coming days.

“It’s just a huge challenge right now,” Thompson said.

Some customers complained they could not get through to the utility to report outages or get information about when their service would be restored, and Puget Sound Energy tweeted it was working to improve its systems.

In response to the power outages, governments, churches and other agencies opened shelters where people could go to get warm.

Slush, ice, downed trees and landslides frustrated travelers Thursday and early this morning as winter weather in all its icy forms – freezing rain, sleet, snow – plagued the region.

Road crews worked overnight in Pierce County to clear away slush and debris. The crews report that the main roads are mostly bare and wet with slush in places this morning. Secondary roads have been plowed and are “reasonably passable,” roads division manager Bruce Wagner reports.

About 50 roads in the county were closed as of 7 a.m. due to downed trees and utility lines, and another 61 sites have lane restrictions, Pierce County reports.

Downed lines also closed both directions of Interstate 5 in Lewis County this morning south of Grand Mond.

State Route 410 remains closed east of Enumclaw as well as State Route 18 between Interstate 5 and Interstate 90. Roughly 50 other roads also are closed because of downed trees and power lines. Another 61 locations have lane restrictions.

“Tree damage and debris is significant and is widespread,” Wagner reports. “Crews are working non-stop to coordinate with utility companies to open roads. Some tree damage is likely to continue until snow has melted so this count is very dynamic.”

Wagner advises that drivers should reduce their speed, allow extra time for their commute and use caution. Branches and downed lines can be difficult to see.

After runways and taxiways were closed ­because of ice and snow, all runways at Sea-Tac Airport are open this morning, spokesman Perry Cooper reports.

There are no operational impacts from the winter weather. However, some flights have been cancelled.

Travelers should check with their airline before heading to the airport.

There were multiple reports Thursday of trees falling onto homes and cars and of roofs and carports collapsing under the weight of ice and snow. A man died after being hit by a falling tree in East King County, but there were no reports of serious injuries in Pierce County.

Downed trees on state Route 410 turned Crystal Mountain into a private ski area for about 200 people on Thursday. As an added bonus, they’ll have first crack at first tracks today because it looked as if they would have to spend the night, ski area spokeswoman Justus Hyatt said. The ski area has generators to maintain operations during power outages.

Freezing rain caused the most havoc, sweeping across the region overnight Wednesday as a layer of warm air slid across a layer of freezing air trapped at the surface. Precipitation that started as rain at upper elevations froze into ice upon hitting the ground, Weather Service forecaster Jeff Michalski said.

Accumulations of ice up to a half-inch thick were recorded across Pierce and Thurston counties, Michalski said.

Such events are rare in Western Washington. The last was in 2004 with a widespread event recorded in December 1996, Michalski said.

As the thaw begins today with rain forecast through Monday, officials are keeping an eye on local rivers for possible flooding. It appeared Thursday that most streams would stay within their banks, but street flooding remains a definite possibility as snowmelt accumulates around clogged storm drains.

“We’re predicting (flooding) will be relatively minor and localized at this point,” said Harold Smelt of Pierce County’s surface-water management program.

“Of course, that’s subject to change. It totally depends on how quickly all this melts.”

Smelt encouraged people to clean out storm drains and keep catch basins clear of debris to help alleviate any problems.

The Weather Service reported it would monitor the rate of snowmelt and rainfall over the next few days and issued a flood watch late Thursday. The watch means conditions are favorable for some flooding but no floods are imminent.

“This amount of runoff could drive rivers in low-­elevation basins above flood stage. This includes the Chehalis and Skokomish rivers,” the Weather Service reported.

“Any flooding that does occur is expected to be minor.”

The Weather Service warned that could change.

“This will be a tricky situation to forecast, and uncertainty that there will or will not be flooding is quite high,” the bulletin states. “Stay tuned to the latest weather and river forecasts and bulletins.”

Gov. Chris Gregoire declared a state of emergency Thursday and activated the National Guard to aid local governments.

“This is purely a precautionary measure,” Gregoire said. “So far, we haven’t received any requests for state assistance – but we know weather conditions are rapidly changing.”

The City of Tacoma also declared a state of emergency, spokesman Rob McNair-Huff said. The declaration allows the city to suspend its bidding rules to facilitate quicker hiring of contractors and other workers to help with debris clean-up, ­McNair-Huff said. It also might make it easier to apply for federal disaster money, he said.

Adam Lynn: 253-597-8644

adam.lynn@thenewstribune.com

blog.thenewstribune.com/crime

Twitter: @TNTadam

Staff writers Stacey Mulick, Craig Hill and Lewis Kamb contributed to this report.