Jonathan Belles, Tim Harris
An atmospheric river pumped moisture and wind into several parts of the Pacific Northwest Friday night into early Saturday. Trees fell on power lines and homes and several roads were forced to close.
More than 200,000 customers in the state of Washington were without power due to a storm that brought gusty winds, downing trees and power lines.
A potent atmospheric river made landfall in British Columbia, Washington and Oregon on Friday and pumped moisture and wind into these areas. The fire hose is sliding south along the West Coast while losing some strength. Widespread gusty winds occurred in Washington, Idaho and Montana, including wind gusts exceeding 80 mph in the Cascades of Washington State. More than 2" of rain also fell west of the Cascades from Olympia, Washington, to Portland and Salem, Oregon.
Driving conditions were dangerous due to downed trees in the roadways. Some locations were without power meaning traffic lights or streetlights were not functioning, further impacting road conditions.
The Washington State Department of Transportation closed several stretches of roads due to debris.
Strong winds knocked down trees across the impacted parts of the state. In Olympia, Washington, at least two bedrooms were pierced by fallen tree branches. Neither of the events resulted in injuries, but one resident was momentarily trapped.
Though rain across much of the area has let up, cool and windy conditions are expected to persist. Further, several area rivers are still running at above-normal levels meaning flooding concerns continue.
The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.
The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.
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