SEATTLE – A 40-year-old man died in Shoreline's Hamlin Park Thursday evening after a portion of a tree fell on him.
The accident occurred in windy weather around 7 p.m. as the man and his wife walked their dog. He was pronounced dead at the scene. His identity has not yet been released.
High winds, heavy rains, loss of power
A strong cold front is moving through the Northwest Thursday, bringing high winds and heavy rains to Western Washington and snow to the Cascades.
Areas all over Western Washington found themselves without power Thursday evening.
Several outages caused by high winds affected approximately 5,500 Tacoma Power customers. Crews have been dispatched to the outage locations, but do not have estimated times for restoring power at this time. Tacoma Power customers without power should call 253-502-8602 to report outages.
Around 6 p.m., more than 5,000 customers lost power in the Aberdeen area.
Puget Sound Energy reported 12,000 outages. Most outages were reported in Whatcom and Skagit counties. Other outages included parts of Poulsbo, Olympia, Puyallup and Magnolia.
"Gusty winds have developed north of Everett this morning and will spread over the remainder of the interior later this morning and continuing this afternoon," said KING 5 Meteorologist Rich Marriott. "The cold front will move through early this evening followed by much cooler showery air and decreasing winds."
A wind advisory is in effect through Thursday night for the Northern Interior and Admiralty Inlet. Marriott says from Everett northward, winds will reach between 15-25 mph with 30-40 mph gusts.
Flood watches are in effect for Whatcom and Mason counties.
Rainfall amounts from the storm are expected in the 3-5-inch range for the Olympics, 2-4 inches for the Cascades and about an inch in the interior lowlands south of Seattle.
Marriott said the Nooksack River in the Cascades could flood and the Skokomish River in the Olympics is expected to reach flood stage Friday.
"If flooding does occur, it will be minor," said Marriott.
Showers will be off and on through Thursday night. Friday night, Western Washington could see showers and some thunderstorms.
Marriott said snow levels will drop to about 2,500-3,000 feet Thursday night and Friday with 4-8” of snow possible in the Cascade passes.
Along the coast, Marriott expects very big waves with swells reaching 23-28 ft.
"Another front will give us a rainy and cool day on Saturday," said Marriott. "Sunday will be a break with a little sun and only a few showers. Next week looks wet off and on and cool."
Eastern Washington
A wind advisory is in effect for the Spokane area, North Idaho, Washington Palouse and Upper Columbia Basin until 7 p.m. Friday.
A vigorous wet cold front will result in windy conditions. Winds will blow from the south and southeast at 10-20 mph. Through Friday, wind speeds are expected to increase to 20-30 mph, with sustained gusts of 45 mph.
The wind advisory includes Spokane, Coeur d'Alene, Post Falls, Hayden, Worley, Moscow, Plummer, Potlatch, Genesee, Clarkston, Pomeroy, Pullman, Colfax, Rosalia, La Crosee, Oakesdale, Tekoa, Uniontown, Ritzville, Grand Coulee, Odessa, Wilbur, Coulee City, Cheney, Davenport and Rockford.
Oregon storm
High winds, heavy rain and even some snow are also making their way into Oregon.
The Thursday forecast called for waves of rain followed by cooler air and plenty of wind.
KGW-TV Meteorologist Nick Allard said sustained winds between 35 to 45 mph with gusts above 60 mph were expected along the Oregon coast. He said inland areas will be generally breezy but occasionally windy.
The National Weather Service issued a high wind warning from noon to 8 p.m. Thursday for the headlands and beaches on the north Oregon coast.
Allard said 6 to 10 inches of snow were possible Thursday night in the mountains, with up to 3 inches possible through Sunday.
