SEATTLE – Winds hammered the Puget Sound region on Saturday morning, with gusts to 50 mph in some places, including Seattle. The winds caused problems for crews working to restore power to customers left in the dark after the snow and ice storm.
“Unfortunately that howling wind that maybe lost us some sleep lost us some ground,” said Andy Wappler of Puget Sound Energy.
Wappler said PSE was down to 180,000 customers out of service before the wind began, which meant that power was restored to some 40,000 customers between 10 p.m. last night until about 4 a.m. Saturday morning. Click for utility company links, info
“But unfortunately those numbers are marching up again,” he said.
PSE has 900 utility line people in the field - that’s 200 crews, Wappler said.
“We’re giving it the full press but we’re not getting any break from the weather,” he said.
Wappler said over the course of the week, crews have restored power to about 400,000 customers.
"We know that really the number that counts is one, which is that one customer at home that's going to say 'what about me?' he said. "Believe me we have not forgotten about you, we will keep working.
The snowmelt, combined with heavy rain, brings the threat of flooding. An urban and small stream flood advisory is in effect for most of Western Washington.
A flood warning was in effect for the Skokomish River in Mason County.
Between 2 and 5 inches of precipitation fell on the south slopes of the Olympic Peninsula in a 24-hour period. The freezing level has been in the 5000 to 7000 foot range so most of that fell as rain.
After a fairly calm afternoon with a few showers and sun breaks, another storm will head our way.
“That’s going to bring with it more rain and more wind,” said KING 5 forecaster Keisha Burns. “The wind this time focused around the north interior, with gusts to 60 mph.
On Sunday and Monday, more rain is likely, though showers will decrease later Monday with some sun breaks. Highs will remain mostly in the low to mid 40s. Overall, next week looks wet with temperatures near or just slightly below average.
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