PORT ANGELES — Severe weather from a bomb cyclone battered Western Washington on Tuesday night, bringing heavy rain, snow, and winds up to 70 mph. The storm left more than 641,000 customers without power across the region.
Clallam County PUD experienced about 12,000 outages at the storm’s peak, with 1,000 still affected Wednesday morning. Port Angeles City Light saw outages for more than 120 customers, but most power has been restored.
High winds caused road closures, including SR 112 near the Makah Indian Reservation with dozens of trees toppled onto the highway. The wind fueled a major fire in Saanich, B.C., destroying a six-story condo under construction. Flames from the fire could be seen across the Strait in Port Angeles.
The wind began picking up late yesterday afternoon. Gusts peaked over 50 miles an hour on the north Olympic Peninsula near the water. On buoy off Vancouver Island reported a wind gust of more than 90 miles an hour.
The National Weather Service linked the extreme conditions to a bomb cyclone, warning residents of potential disruptions as cleanup and repairs continue.