Bigger, wetter storm system expected this weekend
Oct 18, 2017, 6:01 AM | Updated: Oct 19, 2017, 1:09 pm
(Seattle City Light)
Even more rain is in store for us this weekend.
The National Weather Service says the system that will likely hit our area Saturday afternoon could be bigger and wetter than what we experienced Wednesday.
Hoquiam, Bellingham and Clallam County all broke daily records for rainfall on Oct. 18.
Meanwhile, crews are still scrambling to restore power to thousands and clean up damage left by Wednesday’s storm.
During peak outages, Puget Sound Energy reported that 17,000 customers were without power. That improved by early Thursday morning, with fewer than 2,600 customers without power by 1 p.m.
Seattle City Light restored power to thousands over night. There were fewer than 10 customers without power Thursday afternoon.
About 15 Snohomish PUD customers were without power as of 1:00 p.m.
The Dieringer School District in Pierce County was closed on Thursday.
Measured wind speeds on Wednesday:
Bellingham airport – 53 mph
Arlington airport – 44 mph
Paine Field in Everett – 41 mph
Camano Island – 35 mph
Lopez Island – 55 mph
Whidbey Island NAS – 52 mph
McChord Field in Lakewood – 52 mph
Sea-Tac Airport – 50 mph
Power outages
Puget Sound Energy Outage Map
Seattle City Light Outage Map
Tacoma Power Outage Map
Snohomish County PUD Outage Map
More than an inch of rain fell in Seattle, Tacoma, Bremerton, Olympia and Bellingham. Out on the coast, 2 inches fell in Hoquiam and 3 in Forks.
Watch: Coast webcams
Watch: Mountain pass webcams
Thursday’s winds won’t be as strong, but it will still be breezy with intervals of rain.
Friday looks like a break from widespread rain, though showers are likely and we’ll be watching for potential thunderstorms as we move closer to the end of the week.
Snow levels are expected to gradually fall to around 4,000 feet by Friday.
Models still suggest another blustery system moving in on Saturday, but are inconsistent on details.
Today’s NASA image of the Pacific showing systems bringing rain tonight, showery weather Thu/Fri, and substantial rain this weekend. #wawx pic.twitter.com/b9CtM4AEZF
— NWS Seattle (@NWSSeattle) October 19, 2017
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KIRO 7 Meteorologist Nick Allard contributed to this report.