Wind, fallen trees, power outages hit the area

High winds knocking trees into power lines have caused numerous power outages in the Seattle area overnight and this morning.

Although forecasters are calling for another blustery day today, the winds are about to get a whole lot stronger.

Depending on the track of the storm, "everybody could get their strongest winds of the winter," said National Weather Service meteorologist Mike McFarland. Though it's tricky to predict exactly how the storm will play out, "don't be surprised if you don't see the last quarter" of Thursday's Seattle Seahawks game, he said.

POSTED 3:08 PM Wednesday
Windsurfer rescued

Harbor patrol officers rescued a windsurfer from Lake Washington this afternoon after heavy winds pushed him north and snapped the mast on his sailboard, according to Seattle police. Just after 1 p.m., the department's Harbor Unit reported a windsurfer in trouble, said police spokesman Jeff Kappel. The man, who was wearing a wet suit and was windsurfing east of Magnuson Park, was pushed about a half mile north by the wind, he said. After the mast broke on his sailboard, the man was seen swimming towards Kirkland when he was scooped from the water by police, Kappel said.The man was taken ashore, where medics checked him out. "He was fine… He was wearing a wet suit so it was a happy ending," Kappel said.

UPDATED 2:19 PM Wednesday
Chasing after the wind in Snohomish County

By 1 p.m., only 250 or so customers of Snohomish Public Utility were without power. Early in the morning, crews worked to restore power to customers in Arlington and Index, said Snohomish Public Utility spokesman Neil Neroutsos.

The crews had just finished their work in the Cascade foothills when they were dispatched to the southeast part of the county, where power was knocked out to 5,500 customers in parts of Bothell, Maltby and parts of Monroe and Clearwater, Neroutsos said. As of 10 a.m., about 4,000 customers were still without power in those areas, he said. Most of the outages were caused by tree limbs falling onto power lines.

"We're chasing around after the wind," Neroutsos said. "Crews are ready to hit the road and be dispatched wherever they're needed."

UPDATED 12:54 PM Wednesday
Spinning crane

A chain that was left hooked to a tower crane at a construction site in downtown Seattle broke some glass panels on an adjacent building as the crane spun in high winds this morning, said Scott Holbrook, operations manager for Turner Construction. The crane is designed to spin in the wind , but today, "it spun at such a rate that the chain did make contact" with the Bank of California building to the north of the site on Madison Street between Fourth and Fifth avenues where a condominium tower is being built, Holbrook said. He said damage was minor though some of the glass panels will need to be replaced. Once the winds die down, a crane operator will remove the dangling chain, Holbrook said.

POSTED 12:16 PM Wednesday
Ferry detour

The 9 a.m. Bremerton to Seattle ferry detoured to the south of Blake Island this morning to avoid the heavier winds and choppier water of the open sound, according to employees with the Washington State Ferries.

POSTED 11:46 AM Wednesday
Some Seattle schools in the dark

Power outages hit six Seattle schools this morning: Nathan Hale High School, Eckstein Middle School, Pinehurst K-8, and John Rogers, Sacajawea and Wedgwood elementary schools. The students are safe and classes continue, according to the district.

POSTED 11:35 AM Wednesday
Swaying buildings call for sea legs

High winds are causing high-rise office buildings in downtown Seattle to sway.

"Our building is shaking pretty good. I'm getting seasick up here," said Jeff Neely, a financial advisor who works on the 45th floor of the Wells Fargo building at Third Avenue and Madison Street.

"It is definitely swaying but anytime we get high winds, it moves," Neely said.

A couple blocks away, Mark Wilner was also feeling the powerful winds.

"People are getting nauseous. You kind of have to get your sea legs," said Wilner, an attorney whose firm, Gordon Murray Tilden, is located on the 40th floor of a building at 1001 Fourth Ave.

POSTED 11:21 AM Wednesday
Forecast: more wind

A deep, low pressure system over British Columbia's Queen Charlotte Islands is the source of the wind, that will continue to blow at 20 to 35 mph, with gusts up to 45 mph, until this afternoon, when things are expected to settle down, he said. However, a wind advisory will likely be in effect until early afternoon. More damaging winds are expected Thursday evening.

POSTED 11:21 AM Wednesday
Tree hits school bus

A 70-foot evergreen tree fell onto a school bus in Tukwila this morning. No children were on the bus. The driver, a 31-year-old Renton man, was going south on Highway 99 just north of Highway 509 when the tree toppled from the road's shoulder, striking the side of the bus, said State Patrol Trooper Jeff Merrill. The driver swerved to miss the tree, lost control of the vehicle before coming to rest in a ditch, he said. He suffered minor injuries and was taken to Swedish Hospital, Merrill said.

POSTED 11:21 AM Wednesday
Power out

As of late this morning, there were 13,000 City Light customers without power, including. For the last two days, Seattle City Light crews have been working to restore power in neighborhoods affected by the high winds. Neighbor hoods include Northgate, Greenwood, Olympic View, Meadowbrook, Fairview, Ravenna, Bryant and View Ridge.

POSTED 09:20 AM Wednesday
Wind brings unwelcome intrusion

A tree toppled by high winds collapsed on a Sammamish home early today as blustery weather blows through the Puget Sound region.

The tree crashed into the family's living room, where Sharon Christiansen and her 11-month-old grandson were sitting mere feet from where the tree fell.

"When it hit, I went screaming into the living room looking for my son, who was completely covered with insulation. He was still sound asleep snuggled up on the couch, but believe me, it was not fun hunting for that baby," said Rima Edmonds, mother of the 11-month-old.

The family has lived in the Sammamish home for 12 years and experienced many wind storms.