Windstorm leaves thousands without power after blowing through Puget Sound area
A windstorm blew through Western Washington early Wednesday, leaving hundreds of thousands without power and damaging homes.
Some school districts, including Puyallup, Kent and Enumclaw, closed for the day. Mary Lyon, Sheridan and Fawcett elementary schools also closed, according to Tacoma Public Schools.
Crystal Mountain Ski Resort also closed Wednesday so crews could clear trees and power lines from state Route 410.
Winds peaked from midnight to 3 a.m., gusting to 56 mph in Tacoma, 58 mph in Greenwater, 40 mph in Puyallup and 66 mph at Paradise in Mount Rainier National Park, according to the National Weather Service.
Widespread power outages remain after winds and downed trees knocked out electricity to 40,000 customers with Tacoma Public Utilities and more than 276,000 customers with Puget Sound Energy.
More than 500,000 homes and businesses in the Puget Sound area were without power.
In Tacoma, a large tree fell on a house in the 6000 block of South Mason Avenue, trapping a woman in bed.
Firefighters were able to extricate the woman and take her to an area hospital.
In Puyallup, there were reports of two trees falling on mobile homes.
“Sound asleep, about midnight heard two big loud sounds,” James Miller told KOMO News. “It hit my neighbor’s house first, then this house, then there was a 6-inch branch laying next to my head. “
There were multiple reports of downed trees across roads and some rivers experienced minor flooding.
Flood warnings were issued for 14 rivers, none of them in Pierce County.
Pierce County crews said 25 roads are closed and they have more than 50 reports of flooding on streets or other damage.
This is ones of the wettest starts to January with 3.20 inches falling in Tacoma over the last 48 hours, the Weather Service said. University Place has received the most amount of rain in Pierce County with 3.63 inches.
On Tuesday, Seattle broke the daily record for wettest day with 2.33 inches of rain. It was also the wettest day in the city since Dec. 20, 2019.
Forecasters said winds will continue to ease and rain should taper off by Wednesday afternoon.
“The weather system that brought heavy rain and high winds to the area early this morning will continue to move out of the area,” according to the Weather Service. “Behind it we are expecting some drier and calmer conditions.”
Although the weather may improve, forecasters warn that flooding and landslides are still possible.
Snow levels are dropping near 2,000 feet Wednesday.
The sun is expected to make an appearance Thursday, with a 40 percent chance of rain Friday and drier conditions over the weekend.
This story was originally published January 13, 2021 at 8:51 AM.
