Power outages possible from first in a series of storms aimed at Whatcom. Here’s when
A stormy weekend is ahead for Bellingham and Whatcom County, with the first in a series of storms rolling off the Pacific Ocean that’s set to bring wind and rain into next week.
Rain should start late Saturday afternoon, Feb. 26, according to online forecasts from the National Weather Service in Seattle.
Southeast winds are expected from 25-35 mph, gusting to 50 mph — strong enough to cause localized power outages, said meteorologist Steve Reedy.
“When you’ve got winds blowing like that, something is bound to start a domino effect — a branch falls on a power line ...,” Reedy told The Bellingham Herald.
A wind advisory was in effect from 4 p.m. Saturday to 8 a.m. Sunday, Feb. 27.
Saturday night’s storm is the first of several storms poised to strike Western Washington with wind and rain over the next several days, meteorologist Maddie Kristell said in the online forecast discussion.
“Conditions will remain gusty through the day on Sunday, with a small window for a lull in the afternoon and evening. The relative calm likely won’t last long as the next system moves in on Monday,” Kristell said.
“Another round of widespread lowland rain and gusty winds are expected area-wide. Models are now not so certain that there will be much of a reprieve on Tuesday as showers could linger for most of the day,” she said.
Next week’s rainy pattern is a change from a relatively dry February, which has seen less than an inch of rain so far, or about one-third of normal.
Temperatures are expected more in the seasonal range, with daytime highs in the 50s and lows in the 40s.
This story was originally published February 25, 2022 at 1:04 PM.
