Live updates: Bomb cyclone wreaks destruction in Western WA, parts of Pierce County
Tuesday’s bomb cyclone wreaked havoc across Western Washington.
Puget Sound Energy reported nearly 475,000 customers without power as of 1 a.m. Wednesday, with most of those affected in King County. It might take days to restore electricity in some areas, the utility said on its website.
In Pierce County, scattered power outages were reported Wednesday morning, with the biggest concentration in the Carbonado-Wilkeson area, where about 1,700 people woke up to no electricity.
In the Sunrise-area of Mount Rainier National Park winds picked up to about 77 miles per hour, the National Weather Service reported.
Local media outlets reported at least two people killed by falling trees in the King County area.
Most of the power has been restored on Thursday in Pierce County with there being several scattered outages in the area.
PSE said on X that they have work crews from Washington, British Columbia, Idaho and Oregon to ensure power is restored as soon as possible.
White River School District and Eatonville School District announced they will have a two hour late start on Thursday.
The News Tribune will be keeping track of storm damage throughout the day. Check here for more updates.
Power outages
The Enumclaw area has been severely impacted by the storm with around 6,000 customers without power, according to PSE. The National Weather Service reported there where winds of up to 74 miles per hour in Enumclaw on Tuesday.
In the Buckley-area, around 3,000 people do not have power, according to PSE’s outage map. About 1,791 people in Carbonado have also been impacted.
Tacoma Public Utilities reported 129 people without power as of 9 a.m. Wednesday. As of 1 p.m., 33 people are reportedly without power.
School closures
White River School District and Eatonville School District were closed Wednesday due to power outages and downed trees.
Carbonado School District announced it was closed Wednesday as well.
Highway impacts
Update: State trooper Rick Johnson reported on X about 10:40 a.m. that SR 18 has reopened.
Previous post: State Route 18 between Issaquah-Hobart Road and Interstate 90 remained blocked in both directions Wednesday morning by downed trees, WSDOT reported on X.
Update: WSDOT reported at 12:45 p.m. that the roadway is clear.
Previous post: State Route 165 in Buckley near 112th Street was closed due to a tree in power lines, according to WSDOT.
Cascade passes
The NWS issued a blizzard warning over the Cascades from Tuesday until Wednesday at 10 a.m.
Snoqualmie Pass and Stevens Pass experienced blizzard-like conditions Tuesday evening through Wednesday morning, according to NWS. Winds were expected to range from 40 to 50 miles per hour.
WSDOT reported that the Snoqualmie Pass received over a foot of snow on Wednesday.
White Pass had heavy snow throughout the night on Tuesday with temperatures as low as 28 degrees, the NWS reports.
This story was originally published November 20, 2024 at 8:02 AM.
