Storm Brings Strong Winds, Rain to Western Washington

Windy: Weather-Related Power Outages Reported Throughout Lewis County Area

Posted

 

A strong storm off the Washington coast began sending strong winds and heavy rainfall across Western Washington over the weekend, and while the winds were expected to start dying down Monday evening, heavy rains are in the forecast for the rest of the week.

The coast was expected to bear the brunt of the storm’s impact, with 50 to 60 mile per hour winds and 25 to 30 foot waves in the National Weather Service’s (NWS) forecast Monday morning. The Southwest Interior, which includes the Lewis County area, was expected to see winds between 25 and 35 mph with a chance of winds up to 45 mph; while the Olympia, Tacoma and Seattle region was expected to see winds between 30 and 40 mph with a chance of winds up to 50 mph.

Residents in the Lewis County area communities of Toledo, Ashford, Onalaska, Salkum, Morton, Mossyrock, Elbe and Adna experienced weather-related power outages on Sunday, with additional outages in parts of Napavine and around the Centralia service territory          reported Sunday night. As of 8:15 a.m. Monday morning, the Lewis County Public Utility District had restored power to all areas except Mineral, Vader, southern Winlock and areas east and south of Toledo.

The Toledo School District closed all of its campuses on Monday due to the power outage and the Winlock School District was on a two-hour delay, with morning Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program, preschool and all out of district transportation canceled.

The Lewis County Public Utility District could not be reached for comment before press time.



Winds were expected to decrease between 5 and 8 p.m. Monday evening, according to NWS, but winds between 10 and 20 mph are in NWS’s forecast for the Southwest Interior through Wednesday, with rain in the forecast for the rest of the week.

While heavy rain is expected to raise river levels throughout Western Washington this week, the Chehalis, Skookumchuck and Newaukum rivers are not expected to flood, according to NWS forecasts. The Chehalis River was expected to rise approximately 5 feet in Centralia, Grand Mound and Porter by Friday before returning to previous levels, according to NWS forecasts, while the Skookumchuck River was expected to rise about 1 foot in Centralia and Bucoda by Friday before returning to current levels and the Newaukum River was expected to rise about 2 feet near Chehalis by Friday before returning to previous levels.

Heavy rain over the southern Olympic Mountains was expected to push the Skokomish River up above flood stage near Potlatch Monday afternoon, according to NWS.

Despite calming storm conditions Monday night, NWS warned those planning razor clam digs on the coast after Monday’s sunset to beware of a possible 2 to 2.5 feet of storm surge that could result in minor tidal overflow, flooding and erosion from Port Townsend and Whidbey Island up north to the Canadian border.

For updated weather forecasts, visit www.weather.gov/sew/.