Windstorm causes power outages, topples trees, damaging dorm at WWU
Winds gusting well past 50 mph knocked out electricity across a broad area of the Puget Sound region, according to the National Weather Service and Puget Sound Energy.
At least one person was injured in Whatcom County when trees crashed into a dorm at Western Washington University, campus officials said Tuesday night, Jan. 12.
Commuters were urged to drive cautiously, especially in the predawn darkness, because of debris and water over roadways.
Much of Birch Bay Drive was closed because of high water from seasonal king tides, said John Gargett, deputy director of the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office Division of Emergency Management.
“(There is) some water in and around homes, (and the) Bay Breeze restaurant is closed due to water damage,” Gargett texted The Bellingham Herald.
Some debris, including logs, washed over a new berm designed to protect the beach and bayside buildings, Gargett told The Herald in a voicemail.
“While the berm did its job protecting the road by and large, it did suffer some damage as well,” he said.
Several roads in rural Whatcom County were closed by water and debris, according to the Public Works Department’s website.
“Do not drive around barricades or through water of unknown depth, the weather service said online.
More than 12,000 PSE customers were without power in Whatcom County early Wednesday, Jan. 13, according to the utility company’s online outage map.
An estimated 300,000 total PSE customers were without power at 4 a.m.
PSE tweeted early Wednesday, Jan. 13, that its crews were assessing damages.
“(Crews are) getting a look at what’s been done to the system and determining the extent of repairs that are needed,” PSE said. “The process takes time and crews may be delayed, as unsafe weather remains an issue.”
Most of the outages were caused by falling trees and branches from high winds and saturated soil from days of rain.
Parks damage
Parks throughout Bellingham are littered with tree branches and other debris, said city spokeswoman Janice Keller.
“The south side and Galbraith Mountain areas (were) particularly hard-hit,” Keller said in an email.
“Park users are reminded to use caution in and around trees during and after windstorms when broken limbs may fall and trees become unstable in rain-saturated soils,” she said.
Landslides possible
Landslides remain a concern, the National Weather Service said online.
“Heavy rainfall has ended but the amount of rain we’ve received will put extra pressure on soil instability, leading to an increased threat of landslides through early Thursday. Several landslides have already been reported,” the weather service said.
Powerful storm
Winds from an “atmospheric river” of storms churning into Western Washington from the Pacific Ocean brought heavy rain and high winds, according to the National Weather Service in Seattle.
Strongest winds were in Whatcom County, the National Weather Service office in Seattle tweeted.
“An area of low pressure passed over the northwest corner of the Olympic Peninsula around 9 p.m. last night. A rapid rise in pressure behind it caused a surge on onshore winds,” the weather service tweeted Wednesday.
Readings at Bellingham International Airport showed sustained winds of 30 mph gusting to 43 mph at 9:20 p.m.
Peak gusts included 79 mph at Mount Baker, 72 mph at Sandy Point, 70 mph at Ferndale and 49 mph in Bellingham, where the official weather measuring station was offline for several hours.
Heavy rain, record warmth
More than an inch of rain has fallen over the past week in Whatcom County, with 2.69 inches for the month through Jan. 12.
Normal January rainfall is 4.67 inches.
Warm winds from the storm pushed the temperature to 60 degrees Tuesday night, breaking the record of 57 degrees from 2002.
Normal January nighttime temperatures are in the low 30s.
Flood concerns ease
A flood watch was canceled, and the Northwest River Forecast Center shows the Nooksack River cresting just below flood stage in Nugents Corner and Ferndale.
On the river’s south fork near Acme, minor flooding was expected near the Saxon Bridge.
Waters were expected to begin receding Thursday morning, Jan. 14.
Still without power
About 3,000 to 4,000 PSE customers remained without power in Whatcom County at 6 a.m., Gargett said.
“Crews (are) assigned but some areas may be a while before restoration since crews are staging now awaiting high winds to safe levels. PSE has had their (emergency operations center) operating all night,” Gargett told The Bellingham Herald in an email.
Most of the outages in Whatcom County were scattered and affected a few hundred customers.
But residents of Glacier, Maple Falls, Peaceful Valley and areas near Sumas were still without power at 11 a.m. Wednesday, according to the outage map.
Coastal flooding
Seasonal king tides are a concern when they coincide with strong winds.
“Gusty west winds could bring added waves on top of the high tides to westerly facing areas in the Admiralty Inlet Area and San Juan Islands, the National Weather Service said online.
Wednesday’s morning high tide of 10.7 feet just before 7 a.m. prompted a coastal flood advisory and caused some damage to waterfront buildings in Birch Bay.
The extent of damages from coastal flooding was still being assessed Wednesday morning, said Marie Duckworth, spokeswoman for the Whatcom County Public Works Department.
A gale warning was canceled but a small craft warning was in effect through Wednesday afternoon for Bellingham Bay and adjacent waters as winds subsided.
A city of Ferndale official reported no serious damage, and Bellingham officials reported only a few downed trees and no injuries or serious damage.
Mountains
Mt. Baker Ski Area was closed Wednesday because of the storm, according to its website.
It was raining Tuesday at Heather Meadows, ski area officials said online.
Avalanche danger was high in the Mount Baker wilderness because rain on snow creates unstable slopes, the Northwest Avalanche Center said online.
Mount Baker Highway was covered in compact snow and ice and but the road to Mt. Baker Ski Area was closed at milepost 36 near the Nooksack River crossing, the Washington state Department of Transportation said online.
“This is due to more than 30 trees (ranging in size from 8 to 24 inches in diameter) down across the highway for a 10-mile stretch,” said WSDOT spokesman Jordan Longacre.
“Our crews helped escort a few stranded drivers come safely down last night,” he told The Herald in an email.
“We expect the work to take all day, but hoping to have it back open by this evening. We will tweet out the latest once it opens back up,” Longacre said.
Damage at WWU
One student suffered a minor injury when trees from Sehome Arboretum fell onto Fairhaven Stack 3 about 8:40 p.m., WWU said in an email.
“The trees fell from the arboretum onto the building, and University Police and Facilities Management are on the scene,” WWU said.
Officials hadn’t assessed the extent of damage to the building Tuesday night.
One student was relocated.
Electrical service to campus was not affected, WWU spokesman Paul Cocke told The Bellingham Herald in an email.
University officials warned against entering the heavily wooded arboretum and said the service road behind the dorm was closed through Wednesday because of fallen trees.
Forecast
Rains will ease Wednesday in Whatcom County, with partly sunny skies expected Thursday.
Daytime highs will be near 50 degrees, with overnight lows in the mid-30s.
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This story was originally published January 13, 2021 at 7:24 AM.
