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Wind Storm Wreaks Havoc in Western Washington

A gusty wind storm whipped into western Washington Saturday, toppling trees, knocking down power lines and leaving some 150,000 area residents without power.

Credit Denise Walker
A tree fell into power lines in Kirkland, Wash.

Early Saturday afternoon, Puget Sound Energy reported some 105,000 customers were without power as a result of more than 1,000 outages, half of them in Northern King County. By Sunday morning, power had been restored to all but 9,500 customers as a result of 60 outages in King and Kitsap counties. 

The utility said it expected most people to have power restored by Sunday night. PSE customers can call 888-225-5773 for assistance. 

Seattle City Light on Saturday morning reported more than 45,000 customers were without power. By Sunday morning, the outage count had fallen to 1,900 (see real-time outage map). 

Crews planned to work through the night to restore power. Customers can call 206-684-3000 for assistance.

High winds shut down the 520 floating bridge in both directions Saturday morning. The Washington State Patrol said drivers in about 50 cars abandoned their vehicles on the bridge for a period of time. The bridge opened several hours later after the winds had calmed.

KPLU weather expert Cliff Mass on Friday said winds up to 60 mph were expected to sweep through the Puget Sound region in the season's first big storm Saturday.

Snow and slush were covering Snoqualmie and Stevens passes Saturday afternoon. Mass said the passes will receive up to 8 inches of snow, and higher elevations will see up to 18 inches.

The storm will taper off on Sunday, Mass said, and next week will bring cooler, cloudier days. 

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