Windstorm leaves thousands without power in Bellingham and Whatcom County
About 7,000 homes and businesses were without power in scattered outages early Saturday as a fierce windstorm struck Whatcom County with gusts above 60 mph.
Another storm is on the way, according according to the National Weather Service in Seattle.
Tress and branches fell on electrical lines from from Acme to Point Roberts, according to Puget Sound Energy’s online map.
“Following a stormy night (Friday), we will have mild wet weather before drying out a bit and cooling down later next week,” the Whatcom County Division of Emergency management said at its website.
Sustained winds were blowing between 30 and 40 mph overnight Friday into Saturday, according to data from the National Weather Service measuring station at Bellingham International Airport.
Among the largest outages was one affecting more than 2,500 customers in the Puget, Samish and Happy Valley neighborhoods. Other large outages were recorded in Kendall and Blaine.
Some 27,000 PSE and Seattle City Light customers were without power across Western Washington.
Western Whatcom County was the hardest hit, with south winds gusting above 50 mph in the early morning hours Saturday.
Gusts of 63 and 64 mph were recorded around 2:40 a.m. Saturday.
Wind and rain was expected to subside Saturday night through much of Sunday, according to the online forecast discussion from the National Weather Service.
A wind advisory expired at 6 a.m. Saturday.
“The next frontal system will quickly approach Sunday night and cross the area into Monday. Expect gusty winds, lowland rain and mountain snow, though both the precipitation and winds are not expected to be as impactful as (Saturday’s) system,” the forecast said.
“However, will again need to keep a close eye on area rivers with this next round of rain, as flows are increasing with each round of rain.”
Several measuring stations on the Nooksack River show water levels rising, but they are not expected to approach flood stage next week from Acme to Everson and Ferndale, according to the Northwest River Forecast Center.
Heavy snow was falling in the North Cascades after a winter storm warning.
Mt. Baker Ski Area hadn’t posted its snowfall totals early Saturday.
Weather and snowpack conditions were being monitored by the Northwest Avalanche Center, but no warnings were posted for the Mount Baker Wilderness early Saturday.
This story was originally published November 11, 2023 at 7:29 AM.
