By
Seattle Times transportation reporter
Winds from the Pacific accelerated Saturday evening, knocking out electricity for tens of thousands and whipping cities from Washington’s coastline to Puget Sound.
The National Weather Service upgraded earlier predictions to a wind warning around Grays Harbor, with a steady range of 50 to 65 mph winds blowing. A 77 mph gust was recorded at Hoquiam Airport shortly before 8 p.m., and another gust hit 71 mph in Westport, where the city’s downtown live cam showed a steel flagpole swaying like a noodle — until the camera feed abruptly went offline.
In all, over 254,000 customers lost power by Saturday night, as a storm continued to roll into Seattle.
Puget Sound Energy reported over 165,000 customers had lost electricity as of 11 p.m., with most of those outages clustered in Pierce and Thurston counties. Seattle City Light reported nearly 34,000 without power, scattered all across the city. That’s in addition to 26,000 Grays Harbor PUD customers and 18,000 at Snohomish County PUD, where Camano Island and Monroe were the hardest hit. Another 5,000 customers lost electricity in Mason County, and 4,000 more in the Tacoma area.
Earlier in the day, a leafy tree snapped and killed a 31-year-old man near the town of Roy during a community trick-or-treat party in a park.
Peak wind gusts were recorded at 60 mph next to the Tacoma Narrows Bridge and 43 mph at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.
In Seattle, the Saturday night forecast called for gusts peaking at 37 mph, and another tenth to a quarter-inch of rain overnight. A wind advisory remained in effect until 5 a.m. Sunday. Across the region, winds could reach 30 mph with gusts of 45 mph in many communities. People were urged to drive with extra caution if they have “high-profile vehicles,” such as vans and box trucks.
Sunday’s high in Seattle will be 51 degrees, with a 90% chance of rain, continuing into the workweek. About 1 ¼ inches had landed at Sea-Tac as of Saturday.