SEATTLE (AP) — A major storm swept across the northwest U.S., battering the region with strong winds and rain, causing widespread power outages and downing trees that killed at least one person.
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The Weather Prediction Center issued warnings of excessive rainfall risks and hurricane-force winds as the strongest atmospheric river — a large plume of moisture — that California and the Pacific Northwest have seen this season overwhelmed the region. The storm system that hit starting Tuesday is considered a “bomb cyclone,” which occurs when a cyclone intensifies rapidly.
Rainfall of 12 to 16 inches was expected over far northern California and southwest Oregon into Friday, the center said. The intensity was expected to peak Thursday, with flash flooding, rock slides and debris flows likely.
Heavy, wet snow was expected to continue in the Cascades and the northern Sierra Nevada. Forecasters warned of blizzard and whiteout conditions and near-impossible travel at pass level due to accumulation rates of 2 to 3 inches per hour and wind gusts of up to 65 mph.
Falling trees struck homes and littered roads across northwest Washington. In Lynnwood, Washington, a woman died Tuesday night when a large tree fell on a homeless encampment, South County Fire said in a statement on X. In Seattle, a tree fell onto a vehicle, temporarily trapping a person inside, the Seattle Fire Department reported. The agency later said the individual was in stable condition.
A 70-year-old tree fell on Wendy Harrington’s home in Issaquah, Washington, and she told KOMO-TV that she thought a whole wall was coming down.
“It felt explosive, like there was a bomb going off,” Harrington said. “Everything was just very loud.”
Early Wednesday, nearly 600,000 houses in Washington were reported to be without power on poweroutage.us. The number of outage reports had fluctuated wildly Tuesday evening, but steadily declined Wednesday. More than 3,000 were reported to be without power in Oregon and more than 15,000 had no power in California as of Wednesday morning.
“Trees are coming down all over the city & falling onto homes,” the fire department in Bellevue, about 10 miles east of Seattle, posted on the social platform X. “If you can, go to the lowest floor and stay away from windows. Do not go outside if you can avoid it.”
As of 8 p.m., the peak wind speed was in Canadian waters, where gusts of 101 mph were reported off the coast of Vancouver Island, according to the National Weather Service in Seattle. Along the Oregon coast, there were wind gusts as high at 79 mph Tuesday evening, according to the National Weather Service, while wind speed of 77 mph was recorded at Mount Rainier, in Washington.
The National Weather Service warned people on the West Coast about the danger of trees during high winds, posting on X, “Stay safe by avoiding exterior rooms and windows and by using caution when driving.”
In northern California, flood and high wind watches were in effect, with up to 8 inches of rain predicted for parts of the San Francisco Bay Area, North Coast and Sacramento Valley. Dangerous flash flooding, rock slides and debris flows were expected, according to the National Weather Service Weather Prediction Center.
A winter storm watch was issued for the northern Sierra Nevada above 3,500 feet, where 15 inches of snow was possible over two days. Wind gusts could top 75 mph in mountain areas, forecasters said.