Nearly 100,000 remain without power in Western Washington due to strong winds

As expected, counties across Western Washington reported power outages, downed trees and bridge closures Tuesday morning after a heavy Pacific windstorm hit the region.

Down tree on Boren Ave at Seneca St blocking the right NB lane. Use caution. pic.twitter.com/mwj5L34c4w

— SDOT Traffic (@SDOTtraffic) February 25, 2025

The National Weather Service (NWS) first issued a Wind Advisory for parts of Western Washington stretching from the Oregon border to north of Bellingham as a powerful storm reached the coast and started to move inland Monday morning. The warnings and advisories are in effect until 10 a.m. Tuesday.

Puget Sound Energy reported that approximately 94,000 customers are without power, as of 11:50 a.m. Additionally, Snohomish County PUD reported there were more than 5,700 homes without power as of 7 a.m.

“We have made great progress overnight after strong winds hit our region,” Snohomish County PUD wrote in an update. “Thanks to a quick response, PUD crews have restored power to tens of thousands of customers over the past 10 hours.”

Pacific Northwest Storm Watch: Flooding, power outages, and a midweek warm-up

Heading into Monday evening, more than 30,000 lost power across the Seattle area. By 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, approximately 6,820 Seattle City Light customers are still without power.

Another burst of storm activity has caused multiple outages impacting approx. 23,000 customers. Crews are responding and will continue to work as quickly and efficiently as safety allows. Follow our outage map for the latest updates https://t.co/ntpXQJIc2C. pic.twitter.com/B1hIciBXzg

— Seattle City Light (@SEACityLight) February 25, 2025

“As of 7 a.m., we have about 104,000 people out of power throughout our service area, mainly focused in the Kitsap County area and East King area,” Melanie Coon, strategic communications manager with Puget Sound Energy. 

Puget Sound Energy does expect power to be restored by Tuesday evening at the latest.

The strongest winds hit the southern and central coast, where gusts reached 50-60 mph from 10 p.m. Monday to approximately 5 a.m. Tuesday. The storm track was forecast to pass just north of Seattle, meaning while it slowly weakened, it was close enough to bring strong winds to the region.

Hood Canal Bridge Alert on SR 104 both directions at MP 15 near Hood Canal Bridge [Mid-Span] beginning at 12:51 am on Feb. 25, 2025 until further notice. Road is closed.

— WSDOT Tacoma (@wsdot_tacoma) February 25, 2025

“While the storm system will be weakening as it makes landfall, this will still be a longer-duration wind event than many we see, with strong winds lasting upwards of six hours or longer before finally subsiding through the first half of the day Tuesday,” KIRO 7 Chief Meteorologist Morgan Palmer stated. “This prolonged period of windy weather will threaten greater power outages across the area. The impact from this event will stretch through the Tuesday morning commute.”

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While the winds may feel reminiscent of last year’s bomb cyclone, this windstorm has affected the Puget Sound region in a very different way.

“It’s different in the sense of where the winds came from,” Coon said. “We’re used to the winds coming from west to east. When the bomb cyclone came in, the wind came from the east, and that’s why we had so much damage to King County. The trees are used to having those winds coming from the west. They ground themselves according to where those winds usually come from, and during the bone cyclone, it was a different pattern with stronger winds, so that was just a totally different situation.”

Heavy rain is also expected to occur periodically through Tuesday morning.

In the Cascades, a Winter Storm Warning remains in effect through Tuesday afternoon, as 12-18 inches of snow is expected.

By Tuesday morning, the NWS said the winds will slow and the rain could break by Wednesday, bringing partly sunny skies with temperatures reaching near 60 degrees.

Tips to survive the power outage in winter

For those stuck in the cold without any power, NWS relayed some advice to help those keep warm.

“We recommend people not bringing any kind of barbecue or generators near the house inside the garage or inside the house,” Coon added. “That is a huge fire hazard, so do not cook inside your home with a charcoal grill or a propane stove or anything like that. Big, big safety message there. If you worry about food spoiling in your refrigerator, avoid opening and closing the refrigerator in the freezer any more than necessary. A closed refrigerator can stay cold for up to 12 hours, so unplug all your appliances and your sensitive electronic equipment when you have a power outage just to prevent the overload on your circuits when electrical service is restored.”

Contributing: Frank Sumrall, MyNorthwest; KIRO 7

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