KING

Rain batters downtown Seattle as a storm moves through.

SEATTLE - A deadly windstorm blasting the Northwest has claimed three lives, closed major bridges and knocked out power to hundreds of thousands.

Forecasters say the brunt of the storm will move through the region by 6 a.m. with gusts up to 70 miles per hour in the Seattle metro area. A National Weather Service high wind warning remains in effect until 10 a.m. today across much of Western Washington.

The strongest winds will occur early this morning along the Strait of Juan de Fuca and across Whidbey Island. Sustained winds of 50-60 mph, with gusts in the 80-90 mph range.

Emergency officials are warning residents to stay in their homes until the storm has passed. Dispatchers are urging the public to not call 911 unless it's an emergency.

Two people have died from falling trees in Pierce County. In the first incident, a driver who tried to avoid a fallen tree by making an evasive maneuver hit another tree. An hour later, a falling tree struck a pickup truck, killing a woman and severely injuring a man who is in critical condition at Madigan Army Medical Center.

In Seattle's Madrona neighborhood, six feet of water trapped a woman inside a windowless basement room. Fire department divers found the woman who had been underwater for eight minutes. She was taken to Harborview Medical Center where she later died.

In the Lake Forest Park area, firefighters are battling a house fire sparked by a candle in a bedroom. The home's occupants are OK, but pets may still be inside.

The 520, Tacoma Narrows and Hood Canal bridges are all closed due to high winds, and Washington State Department of Transportation officials say they may not reopen the bridges until after the morning commute.

The Ballard Bridge was stuck open because of the strong wind gusts, a piece of a Seattle crane fell onto cars below, and an Amtrak train was stuck near Kelso after a mudslide.

Rain drenched Qwest Field just before kickoff of the NFL game between the Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers. The rain left standing water on the field.

During the Thursday evening rush hour in Seattle, rain and standing water backed up traffic. On Mercer Street, a BMW and another vehicle were swamped by high water.

In West Seattle, a 15-by-20-foot sinkhole opened. Another sinkhole in Woodinville has closed part of 132nd Ave. NE.

Five landslides have been reported in various parts of Seattle.

Responding to widespread reports of flooding around the city, Seattle Public Utilities has activated its Urban Flood Response Plan and has at least 20 work crews dealing with issues ranging from landslides and street flooding to sewage backups and a sinkhole.

Heavy rain created a mudslide in Seattle's Queen Anne neighborhood in the 100 block of Elliot near Prospect. It was only one of many challenges for drivers across Seattle. Many downtown streets flooded and water spouted up from various manhole covers.

In the 24 hours up until 4:30 p.m., Seattle-Tacoma International Airport received 1.09 inches of rain, Shelton in Mason County recorded 2.19 inches, Olympia had 1.53 inches, Hoquiam on the coast had 1.83 inches, and Maple Falls in the Cascade foothills east of Bellingham had 1.46 inches.

Destructive storm

Forecasters said the storm could top the destructive force of the 1993 "Inauguration Day Storm" that left six people dead. That storm, on the day of Pres. Bill Clinton's inauguration, knocked out power to 700,000 homes and did more than $100 million in damage.

AP

Kae Lamberton, left, of Auburn, Wash., tries to salvage what little she can reach through a bedroom window in her mobile home after three trees fell on her home and vehicles.

The highest winds measured through early evening were 70 mph gusts at Ocean Shores, on the Washington coast, the National Weather Service said.

The storm reached the Oregon Coast by 5 p.m. with strong winds and heavy rain that downed trees and power lines, causing outages and traffic problems, officials said. Gusts of more than 90 mph were reported at various points along the coast, including a gust of up to 97 mph at Rockaway Beach. Garibaldi and Lincoln City recorded gusts topping 90 mph on the coast, and wind reached 48 mph in Corvallis and 46 in Hillsboro.

In Eastern Oregon, the Oregon Department of Transportation closed a 20-mile stretch of Highway 18 after high winds toppled dozens of trees across the roadway Thursday afternoon.

Pacific Power, which covers most of the state outside the Portland metro area, said at least 84,000 homes had no electricity Thursday afternoon. Portland General Electric reported about 69,000 homes without power, scattered west of Interstate 5 between Portland and Salem.

Bridge closures

The Hood Canal Floating Bridge, linking the Kitsap and Olympic peninsulas, closed shortly after 8 p.m. Thursday when winds there gusted to 74 mph, the state Department of Transportation said.

The SR 520 Evergreen Point Bridge closed shortly after 10 p.m. and willl remain closed to traffic until the storm passes Friday morning.

The Tacoma Narrows bridge shut down at 12:45 a.m. Friday.

The I-90 floating bridge will continued to be monitored.

Forecast

Overnight, there will be showers and increasing wind, with peak wind speeds around Puget Sound up to 55 mph and gusts up to 70 mph; stronger winds along the coast, Strait, San Juan Islands and Whidbey Island with gusts to 90 mph possible, and up to 110 mph south of Ocean Shores.

Friday, winds will slowly decrease. Much colder and unstable air later Friday will bring not only showers, but possibly thundershowers as well-especially Friday afternoon.

The mountains will get a heavy dose of snow, with most of it falling between Stevens and Snoqualmie passes; 8 to 24 inches possible. The snow level will drop down to 1,500 feet Friday night.

As the low moves farther inland, winds will shift westerly along the coast and Strait, generating extremely strong winds through the Strait to Whidbey island and the northern part of Snohomish County and parts of Skagit County. Here's a likely timeline of peak winds:

10 p.m.-2 a.m.: Coast 30-60 mph, gusting to 90 mph

11 p.m.-4 a.m.: Puget Sound, 25-50 mph gusting to 70 mph

11 p.m.- 6 a.m.: Strait/Whidbey/Snohomish/Skagit Co. 30-60 mph, gusts to 90 mph

6 a.m.-10 a.m.: Decreasing winds all except Strait/Whidbey/Snohomish/Skagit

10 a.m. onward: Decreasing winds all areas

AP

A car hydroplanes through an intersection after a downpour.

Wind, surf, rain and snow

A high surf warning is in effect until 10 p.m. Friday. Waves as high as a two-story building will batter beaches and produce deadly rip currents and some beach erosion.

The National Weather Service has issued and urban and small stream flood advisory for parts of Western Washington. Forecasters say rain was falling at a rate of an inch an hour as the storm front moves through the state.

The National Weather Service has issued a flood warning for the following Western Washington rivers: Tolt (near Carnation), Snoqualmie (near the Falls and near Carnation), Puyallup (near Orting), Nisqually (near National), Cowlitz (at Randle), Skookumchuck (near Bucoda), Chehalis (near Grand Mound and at Porter), Skokomish (near Potlatch).

A National Weather Service flood watch is in effect through at least Saturday for rivers across Oregon, while the Coast Guard has closed the Columbia River bar to maritime traffic.

If you think it might be fun to head out to the beach to watch the storm, Renner says think again. "The surf can take a deadhead and fling it amazing distances," said Renner, whose best advice is "Don't go out there."

Request from police

Police has been inundated with calls that are not emergencies. They therefore request people do not call 911 for non-emergency situations such as power outages, dark intersections, flooded roadways, down power lines (unless the wires are arcing and sparking), bad traffic conditions.

They say fires, in-progress crimes, injury accidents, etc. will take priority over weather-related incidents. People should stay home unless absolutely necessary, as driving is more likely to make them part of the problem, rather than the solution.

Governor has storm warning

Governor Gregoire is urging extreme caution as storms pummel the state. She says we should be prepared to deal with power outages for several days.

AP

Erik Guttridge works to clear a drain at an intersection where 3 feet of water covered the street and caused a vehicle, abandoned behind him, to stall Thursday.

In a statement from her Olympia office, the governor urged residents to take steps to protect themselves and their families from the hazards of the extreme weather. She says if you absolutely have to be on the highways, to use extreme caution. It's better to stay home if you can, she says.

The governor suggests replenishing a three-day supply of food, water, batteries, flashlights and other necessities. She says families should agree on a plan for protecting themselves, both indoors and outside and on the roads.

On the passes

At Snoqualmie Pass, chains are required for all vehicles except all-wheel drive cars. Crews did avalanche control there late in the afternoon and there's snow and slush on the road.

At Stevens Pass, there's compact snow and ice and traction tires are required.

Chains are required for all vehicles over 10,000 gross vehicle weight and no oversize vehicles are allowed.

Airport preparations

Sea-Tac Airport officials also are braced for high winds. Spokesman Bob Parker said the runways run north/south, which is in line with the prevailing winds. The result is that aircraft can continue to land and take off in sustained winds up to about 60 mph. Today's storm could affect airport operations.

Parker said steady winds are fine, though bumpy for passengers. But gusts are problematic if they hit at a critical time, particularly right at touchdown. Usually a go-around and second landing attempt resolves the issue. Pilots might also wait for a gust to pass before trying to take off.

Parker said it’s very rare for the airport to lose power completely, but it’s likely the control tower will switch to the generator sometime this afternoon to avoid even the short power blip that occurs during an unplanned switch-over.

Oregon ready for tough weather

Oregonians were bracing for a major wind and rainstorm that began slamming into the Northwest late Thursday and was expected to worsen overnight.

Steve Roeseler

A tree landed on Steve Roeseler's Oak Harbor home on Wednesday.

The National Weather Service said a powerful storm system was moving into Oregon and Washington, with several reports of power outages, downed trees and closed roads already coming in on Thursday afternoon.

Rainfall was expected to be as high as 8 inches on the coast and 5 inches in the Cascade Range, with snow at higher elevations. The Willamette Valley was likely to get 2 to 3 inches of rain, forecasters said.

Wind gusts hit 97 mph at Rockaway Beach on the Oregon coast late Thursday afternoon, according to KGW-TV in Portland.

Garibaldi and Lincoln City recorded gusts topping 90 mph on the coast, and wind reached 48 mph in Corvallis and 46 in Hillsboro.

Flood warnings have already been issued for a number of rivers in northwest Oregon.