30,000 waking up without power as windstorm batters Puget Sound area



SEATTLE -- Strong winds prompted a wind advisory and knocked out power to tens of thousands early Monday morning in Western Washington.

Puget Sound Energy reported around 30,000 customers without power just after 7:00 a.m. An outage map showed scattered outages in King, Pierce, Thurston, Kitsap, Snohomish, Skagit, Island and Whatcom counties. That number dropped to below 15,000 by 8:30 a.m.

Seattle City Light reported as many as 3,000 customers without power. Snohomish County PUD also reported some outages.

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Q13 News Meteorologist M.J. McDermott says the heaviest rain pushed through Puget Sound around 3:00 a.m. Monday.

A high wind warning was expected to bring 25 to 40 mph sustained winds with gusts up to 65 mph along the I-5 corridor from Lewis to Snohomish counties -- including Seattle, Bellevue, Tacoma, Bremerton and Olympia.

The warning is in effect through 9:00 p.m. Monday. Impacts include falling trees and limbs, power outages and possibly damage to structures.



Q13 News reporter John Hopperstad found a dangerous situation in Kirkland as a school bus became behind stuck near downed power lines on Juanita Ave. No children were on the bus at the time. The driver was eventually able to back out of the situation.



Our crews found downed trees and power lines, and traffic signals out in Seattle's Beacon Hill neighborhood. Remember, when a traffic signal is out - treat the intersection as a 4-way stop!



The week ahead: More rain, wind

Q13 News Meteorologist Walter Kelley says rainfall will be over ½ an inch and that would bring standing water on the roadways Monday afternoon.

Tuesday will be wet and windy again. Tuesday’s system is a little weaker with wind but heavier with the rain. Tuesday’s wind will be more like 35 mph.

Tuesday’s rainfall will be around an inch and that would bring about some urban flooding. Isolated thunderstorms are in the forecast too.

It's also the big snow day up at the passes as it gets colder that day. Passes will get 6 or more inches and ski areas will get well over a foot. Wednesday through the Weekend will be unsettled and colder. I’d expect delays or closures on the passes this week.

Watch Q13 News This Morning for the latest forecast and continuing coverage of this week's storms.