Video: Early morning lightning storm cuts power to thousands

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SEATTLE – Puget Sound residents were bracing for more thunder and lighting storms Sunday night, after an early morning storm lit up the skies and caused scattered power outages in parts of Seattle and South King County.

More thunderstorms were expected along the coast and Olympic Peninsula early Sunday evening, and over the Seattle metro area later in the night.

The National Weather Service warned that the thunderstorms could produce dime-sized hail or larger, with brief, gusty winds.

"There's a better chance (of lightning) in the Seattle area overnight, and into the morning while people are sleeping," said KING 5 meteorologist Chris Warren.

The NWS said the thunderstorms could continue through the day Monday.

On Tuesday, a strong and wet storm more typical of autumn will move in, bringing significant rainfall for this time of year.

Early Sunday morning, reports of lightning came in from as far south as Fort Lewis all the way to Seattle. Seattle City Light reported about 4,000 customers lost power in the Lake City and Briercrest neighborhoods in north Seattle.

Puget Sound Energy said about 1,600 customers lost power in the Factoria area. There were also reports of scattered outages in Auburn, Kent and Federal Way, but no reports of damage.

Lightning may have been behind the dozen fires that were burning Sunday in Olympic National Park. According to visitors, several fires started in the Deer Park area, two near Maiden Peak and another near Grand Valley. The rain was keeping them at bay.

The lightning capped off a three-day heat wave that saw temperatures climb into the 90s in Western Washington. Temperatures on Saturday reached 94 in Shelton, 91 in Puyallup and 98 in Vancouver, Wash. Eastern Washington hit the triple digits, with Ellensburg at 105 and Walla Walla at 104.

On Sunday, temperatures in Puget Sound dropped into the 80s, and the cool-down was expected to continue as the week goes on.

"We're going to go from one extreme to the next," said NWCN meteorologist Nick Allard.

Dave Chappell

Centralia, Wash. resident Dave Chappell submitted this photo of a lightning strike early Sunday morning.

Allard said Monday brings a chance of showers, as an area of low pressure approaches the coast. Look for temperatures to drop into the 60s by Wednesday.

"Normal temperatures for this time of year are in the mid-70s, so we'll be cooler than normal by Tuesday," Warren said.

In the meantime, thunderstorms have firefighters on alert. A red flag warning for fire danger is in effect for much of Western Washington.

"The high fire danger is due to the fact it's dry, and there are thunderstorms," Warren said.

Fire danger in Oregon

The National Weather Service issued a severe thunderstorm warning for Clackamas County Sunday afternoon. Lightning, hail and strong winds were all possible near Welches, Rhododendron and Zigzag.

Dry air, thunderstorms and temperatures in the 100s put the Northwest at high risk for wildfires, particularly across most of Washington and Oregon.

Fire activity increased Friday and Saturday on the Gnarl Ridge Fire near Mt. Hood, sending up a plume of smoke that was visible from Timberline and some areas of Portland over the weekend.

High temperatures and low humidity led to spot fires, keeping firefighters busy and forcing them to pull back as the fire crossed the northern flank of Mt. Hood and made a small run to the west.

KING

A KING 5 viewer submitted snapped this photo of lightning Sunday morning in Federal Way, Wash.

Crews had initially been able to contain the fire at 300 acres but the string of hot weather, combined with strong winds on the mountain, caused the fire to flare back up. The latest acreage estimates were between 500 and 800 acres.

By late Friday, crews were three miles southeast of the Cloud Cap Inn, working to re-establish their fire lines.

Red flag warnings were expected to remain in place through Saturday, due to the high temperatures and low humidity.

The fire, which was earlier reported to be 50 percent contained, was only 5 percent contained by Sunday