New storm could prolong power woes

Repair crews still trying to restore power lines snapped by fallen trees during last week's windstorm have more to worry about tonight.

Yet another storm is expected to pass through the Puget Sound region with wind gusts up to 50 mph in some places, according to the National Weather Service.

"This storm is going to be like your typical storm during the wintertime," said Johnny Burg, a weather-service meteorologist. "We're not looking for widespread destruction or anything like that."

Though the winds will be considerably weaker than what some neighborhoods saw last week, there might be additional power outages caused by the falling of already weakened tree limbs and trees rooted in saturated ground.

Residents of King, Pierce and Snohomish counties should expect winds at about 20 mph and gusts nearing 40 mph, Burg said. In Whatcom, Island and San Juan counties, residents should prepare for winds up to 30 mph and gusts nearing 50 mph. The storm should pass by Thursday morning.

Another storm is slated to hit the Puget Sound region on Saturday, bringing more rain and high winds. That will likely be weaker than today's storm, said NWS meteorologist Gary Schneider

Dorothy Bracken, spokeswoman for Puget Sound Energy, said that if additional customers lose power, they should anticipate a quick response by repair crews. Since last week, PSE has called in extra crews from Montana, Missouri, Kansas, Alaska, Colorado, Utah, California, Oregon, Eastern Washington and British Columbia to help with the repairs.

"We're simply mindful that we've got our work cut out for us if the weather change brings new outages. We've got more than 2,000 people ready to respond," Bracken said.

The windstorm that hit the region Thursday is being called the most severe weather Western Washington has seen in almost a decade.

About 1 million lost power. Twelve were killed — including a Madison Valley woman who drowned in her basement and six others who died from inhaling a fatal amount of carbon monoxide from charcoal briquettes and generators they were using to cook and keep warm.

As of Tuesday night, about 10,000 Seattle City Light customers were without electricity; the majority of these outages were in Lake Forest Park, Burien, Tukwila and West Seattle. Nearly all Seattle City Light customers should have power restored by the end of the week, the company said Tuesday.

Suzanne Hartman, spokeswoman for Seattle City Light, said they are also monitoring today's storm. She said that unless there is an emergency, crews will restore power to the customers who have been in the dark since last week before getting to any new outages.

Nearly 145,000 Puget Sound Energy customers remained without power Tuesday night. The majority of those outages are in East King County, Bracken said.

Jennifer Sullivan: 206-464-8294 or jensullivan@seattletimes.com