Weather calms down, wind advisory lifted

The high wind gusts that blew through Western Washington overnight have died down, prompting the National Weather Service to lift its wind advisory.

About 1,900 Puget Sound Energy customers lost power overnight as a result of the latest storm.

Spokesman Andy Wappler says most of those were in Ferndale where a limb fell across power lines.

He says there were other scattered outages in Kitsap, Skagit and Island counties, and crews quickly restored service in most areas. Wappler says the winds were not as strong as the storm that knocked out service Saturday for 10,000 Puget customers.

Winds around the Puget Sound reached as high as 48 miles per hour in Bellingham. In SeaTac, gusts blew to 35 miles per hour overnight, said Danny Mercer, meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

The storm was a result of a deep low-pressure system that came from north Vancouver Island and united with a strong cold front, he said.

The combination produced high winds and cooler temperatures.

Such windstorms aren't unusual for this time of year, Mercer said, but "things really ramp up in November and December as far as winds."

The Seattle area can expect calmer weather today with some showers and partly sunny skies, he said. The high will reach about 59 degrees, he said.

Snow is expected around the mountain passes and as much as six inches could fall at elevations of 4,500 feet or higher, Mercer said.

"Hikers need to be careful," he said.

In the lowlands, temperatures are expected to remain in the 50s for the rest of the week. But things could warm up by Saturday, Mercer said.

"Cross your fingers. It's starting to look good for the weekend," he said. "But it's still a bit too far out to tell."

Sonia Krishnan: 206-515-5546 or skrishnan@seattletimes.com.