Live updates: Thunderstorms bring lightning, rain to Pierce County but little to no hail
A spring storm moved through the Tacoma area on Wednesday evening, bringing thunder, lightning and rain but not the high winds or hail previously forecast.
Tacoma Power was reporting five outages affecting 35 customers across its service area about 7:30 p.m. Puget Sound Energy was reporting a handful of small outages in South King County.
The National Weather Service Office in Seattle issued a severe thunderstorm watch for Western Washington on Wednesday afternoon, predicting thunderstorms to roll into the Tacoma area in the evening, bringing large hail the size of quarters or possibly limes and strong winds reaching over 58 miles per hour, The News Tribune reported.
In a briefing early Wednesday afternoon, the office updated its forecast to include an increased tornado risk of 5-9% for parts of Pierce, Thurston and Lewis counties. It also extended the risk area for hail 2 inches or more in diameter northward to Seattle. The briefing estimated storms to hit Tacoma around 6 p.m. and Olympia around 5 p.m.
“Strong to severe thunderstorms may produce damaging winds, large hail, isolated tornadoes, localized flash flooding, and dangerous lightning, potentially causing hazardous road, air and marine travel,” the briefing said.
It also added that the storms could result in debris flows and mudslides in areas that have been burned by fire.
By 7:50 p.m. the line of storms had moved into Snohomish County, and the Weather Service posted the following on X:
“The leading edge of the storms are moving north through Island & Snohomish counties. Widespread showers & isolated thunderstorms across much of W WA at this point. Radar indicates some small hail, but remaining below severe thresholds.”
Some effects were being felt before the storms arrived. Here’s what we know so far:
Free rides to storm shelters
Pierce Transit is offering free rides to inclement-weather shelters in the county. The list of locations can be found on the county’s website.
Military impacts
The 62nd Airlift Wing at Joint Base Lewis-McChord announced about 3:30 p.m. that it is preparing “to evacuate several C-17 Globemaster III aircraft out of an abundance of caution due to the forecasted severe weather event.
“Evacuation missions are a precautionary measure taken to avoid serious damage to aircraft and personnel in the event of inclement weather.”
Storm-related school/government closures
- The Puyallup Tribe’s administration offices closed at 2 p.m, with all after-school activities canceled.
- Puyallup’s Parks and Recreation Department said all the city’s facilities and parks would close after 4 p.m., with all games and practices canceled.
- The Puyallup School District has canceled all after-school activities that were scheduled for 4:30 p.m. or later.
- The Peninsula School District canceled all after school sports, events, activities and clubs this afternoon and evening and says to direct any questions to your coach or primary contact person.
Staff writers Isabela Lund and Puneet Bsanti contributed to this report.
This story was originally published March 26, 2025 at 2:53 PM.
