Thunderstorms roar across Puget Sound
Aug 29, 2013, 4:50 PM | Updated: Aug 30, 2013, 7:44 am
Wild weather across Puget Sound Thursday afternoon and into the evening produced heavy rain, hail, rotating winds, and minor flooding.
The National Weather Service in Seattle issued an urban and small stream flood advisory for poor drainage areas.
Meteorologists said thunderstorms moving through the area were capable of producing over an inch of rain in just 20 minutes.
National Weather Service meteorologist Dana Felton says Mill Creek reported nearly 1.3 inches of rain in about an hour. A spotter in Olympia reported more than a half inch in 15 minutes.
The storm displaced 50 people in SeaTac after an apartment complex flooded in the heavy rains.
Fire department officials say the apartments were undergoing a roof replacement when the storm began. Despite having plastic sheeting covering the building, rain managed to get through.
Rain squalls also collapsed a roof section at a commercial business in Kent.
Kent Fire Capt. Kyle Ohashi says no one was injured at the woodworking business warehouse where a 40-foot by 40-foot roof section failed. He says the collapse happened in a corner of the warehouse where drains were unable to keep up with the sudden downpour.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
