Thunderstorms knock out power across western Washington
Jul 16, 2026, 12:06 PM | Updated: 5:17 pm
Lightning flashes are seen above homes. (Photo: Dan Kitwood, Getty Images)
(Photo: Dan Kitwood, Getty Images)
A thunderstorm triggered thousands of power outages across western Washington.
Seattle City Light is reporting 21 unplanned outages, affecting around 165 customers, all the way from near Shoreline to Skyway, as of 5 p.m. Thursday.
Many of the exact causes of the power outages in Seattle are still under investigation, with restoration times ranging from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Puget Sound Energy is seeing 1,899 customers without power due to unplanned outages, from Whidbey Island all the way to Tenino. The majority of the outages are in the Tumwater area.
Tacoma was also seeing some thunderstorm activity, but the power has been mostly fixed, with only one unplanned outage and five customers affected.
Up in Snohomish County, only eight customers are without power, down from the earlier 1,803 affected.
Thunderstorm causes ground stop at SEA
The storm is also affecting travel, with a ground delay at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) in place. The delay replaced an earlier ground stop.
The ground stop impacted departures heading toward Seattle from three regional air traffic control zones in the U.S., as well as Canada, including:
- Salt Lake Center, UT (SLC)
- Oakland Center, CA (ZOA)
- Seattle Center, WA (ZSE)
- Edmonton, Canada (CYEG)
- Vancouver, Canada (CYVR)
- Calgary, Canada (CYYC)
- Victoria, Canada (CYYJ)
- Kelowna, Canada (CYLW)
The ground delay is expected to be lifted around 10:59 p.m.
This is a developing story, check back for updates.
Contributing: Jason Sutich, MyNorthwest
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