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Seattle power outage: Thousands left in dark as strong Pacific winds sweep through Washington coastline
Seattle was impacted by a massive power outage after strong winds from the Pacific swept through the Washington coastline, causing widespread damage.
Seattle was impacted by a massive power outage after strong winds from the Pacific swept through the Washington coastline Saturday evening, October 25. The winds caused widespread damage and left thousands of people without power.
Earlier in the day, the storm caused a leafy tree to snap, resulting in the death of a 31-year-old man near Roy during a community trick-or-treat event, the Seattle Times reported. While peak gusts of 60 mph were recorded near the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, it was 43 mph at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.
What we know about the power outage
According to Puget Sound Energy, more than 117,000 customers were affected. The latest outages were reported in Pierce and Thurston counties.
Meanwhile, additional power losses were also reported by Grays Harbor PUD (17,000), Snohomish County PUD (5,000), as well as Seattle City Light, which said over 32,000 customers in the city were in the dark.
Previous forecasts have been upgraded by the National Weather Service to a wind warning for Grays Harbor, with sustained winds of 50 to 65 mph. Shortly before 8 pm, Hoquiam Airport recorded a gust of 77 mph. Meanwhile, a 71 mph gust affected Westport, causing its downtown live cam to go offline when a steel flagpole swayed violently.
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On Saturday night, residents in Seattle experienced gusts up to 37 mph. Seattle also saw a tenth to a quarter of an inch of rain. A wind advisory remains in effect until 5 am Sunday, October 26.
The forecast on Sunday calls for a high of 51 degrees. There is a 90 per cent chance of rain continuing into the workweek. Meanwhile, as of Saturday, Sea-Tac Airport reported about 1.25 inches of rain.
Tacoma Public Utilities said that outages affected more than 21,000 customers, according to News.AZ. Grays Harbor PUD reported that around 12,000 people were without power.
A multi-vehicle crash near Wicker Road and Fruitdale Road temporarily led to additional power disruptions in Sedro-Woolley. According to police, those involved in the crash were rescued and are safe. Most of the affected service has since been restored.
