‘Bomb cyclone’ kills 1 and knocks out power to over half a million homes across northwest US

By HALLIE GOLDEN and LISA BAUMANN, Associated Press

SEATTLE (AP) — A large tempest swept crossed the northwest U.S., battering the portion with strong winds and rain, causing wide powerfulness outages and downing trees that killed astatine slightest 1 person.

The Weather Prediction Center issued excessive rainfall risks done Friday and hurricane-force upwind warnings were successful effect arsenic the strongest atmospheric river — a ample plume of moisture — that California and the Pacific Northwest has seen this play overwhelmed the region. The tempest strategy that deed starting Tuesday is considered a “ bomb cyclone,” which occurs erstwhile a cyclone intensifies rapidly.

Rainfall of 12 to 16 inches (30 to 40 centimeters) was expected implicit acold bluish California and acold southwest Oregon into Friday, the halfway said. The strength was expected to highest Thursday, with flash flooding, stone slides and debris flows likely.

Heavy, bedewed snowfall was expected to proceed on the Cascades and successful parts of acold bluish California. Forecasters warned of blizzard and whiteout conditions and adjacent intolerable question astatine walk level owed to accumulation rates of 2 to 3 inches (5 to 7.6 centimeters) per hr and upwind gusts of up to 65 mph (105 kph).

Falling trees struck homes and littered roads crossed northwest Washington. In Lynnwood, Washington, a pistillate died Tuesday nighttime erstwhile a ample histrion fell connected a stateless encampment, South County Fire said successful a connection connected X. In Seattle, a histrion fell onto a vehicle, temporarily trapping a idiosyncratic inside, the Seattle Fire Department reported. The bureau aboriginal said the idiosyncratic was successful unchangeable condition.

A 70-year-old histrion fell connected Wendy Harrington’s location successful Issaquah, Washington, and she told KOMO-TV that she thought a full partition was coming down.

“It felt explosive, similar determination was a weaponry going off,” Harrington said. “Everything was conscionable precise loud.”

Early Wednesday, astir 600,000 houses successful Washington State were reported to beryllium without powerfulness on poweroutage.us. The fig of outage reports had fluctuated wildly Tuesday evening, but steadily declined Wednesday. More than 3,000 were reported to beryllium without powerfulness successful Oregon and much than 15,000 had nary powerfulness successful California arsenic of Wednesday morning.

“Trees are coming down each implicit the metropolis & falling onto homes,” the occurrence section successful Bellevue, astir 10 miles (16 kilometers) eastbound of Seattle, posted connected the societal level X. “If you can, spell to the lowest level and enactment distant from windows. Do not spell extracurricular if you tin debar it.”

As of 8 p.m., the highest upwind velocity was successful Canadian waters, wherever gusts of 101 mph (163 kph) were reported disconnected the seashore of Vancouver Island, according to the National Weather Service successful Seattle. Along the Oregon coast, determination were upwind gusts arsenic precocious astatine 79 mph (127 kph) Tuesday evening, according to the National Weather Service successful Medford, Oregon, portion upwind velocity of 77 mph (124 kph) was recorded astatine Mount Rainier successful Washington.

The nationalist Weather Service warned radical connected the West Coast astir the information of trees during precocious winds, posting connected X, “Stay harmless by avoiding exterior rooms and windows and by utilizing caution erstwhile driving.”

In bluish California, flood and precocious upwind watches were successful effect, with up to 8 inches (20 centimeters) of rainfall predicted for parts of the San Francisco Bay Area, North Coast and Sacramento Valley. Dangerous flash flooding, stone slides and debris flows were expected, according to the National Weather Service Weather Prediction Center.

A wintertime tempest ticker was issued for the bluish Sierra Nevada supra 3,500 feet (1,066 meters), wherever 15 inches (28 centimeters) of snowfall was imaginable implicit 2 days. Wind gusts could apical 75 mph (120 kph) successful upland areas, forecasters said.

The National Weather Service issued a flood ticker for parts of southwestern Oregon done Friday evening, portion unsmooth winds and seas halted a ferry way successful northwestern Washington betwixt Port Townsend and Coupeville.

A blizzard informing was issued for the bulk of the Cascades successful Washington, including Mount Rainier National Park, starting Tuesday afternoon, with up to a ft of snowfall and upwind gusts up to 60 mph (97 kph), according to the upwind work successful Seattle. Travel crossed passes could beryllium hard if not impossible.

Originally Published: November 20, 2024 astatine 7:03 AM EST