SEATTLE - Just as people completed the clean-up after two wind storms, several more systems are headed for Western Washington, with high winds and heavy rain.
"Three strong storms one after another," said KING 5 Meteorologist Rich Marriott.
The rain and wind picked up again, just in time for Wednesday's evening commute.
The highest winds are hitting the area from Arlington and Whidbey Island north, with sustained winds of up to 50 mph possible, with higher gusts, and south of Arlington up to 35 mph. The Washington coast can expect heavy rain and high winds, with gusts to 70 mph possible. Winds will likely ease around midnight.
Mountain passes will likely see heavy snow fall. Overnight accumulations could range from 6 inches to 2 feet, with most of the snow at Mount Baker.
On Thursday, rain will become spotty over the Sound, but remain moderate to heavy all the way into Friday over the Olympic and Kitsap peninsulas as well as the North Cascades - with 4 to 10 inches possible.
Power outages, flood warnings
By Wednesday evening, power outages affected about 5,000 customers around Seattle and Shoreline, and about 8,000 PUD customers in Forks, Clallam Bay, Sekiu and Neah Bay; 3,000 in Kirkland's Rose Hill neighborhood, and 3,000 more scattered outages in Kitsap, Whatcom, Skagit, and Island counties.
A tree and powerlines came down on a rural road near Stanwood. A woman driving was able to hit the brakes, but not before slamming into the tree.
A flood warning continues for the Skokomish River. Flood watches are in effect for Grays Harbor, Lewis, Thurston, Clallam and Jefferson counties.
A winter storm warning is in effect until 4 a.m. Thursday for the Olympics and Cascades, including the cities of Leavenworth and Republic. A winter weather advisory was issued for the area including Wenatchee and Newport.
Initially, freezing levels will remain near 2,500 feet in the Olympics, then rise above 4,000 feet late tonight and above 5,000 feet on Thursday as warmer air moves in, bringing concerns about more river flooding.
In the Cascades, the snow levels will rise to around 3,500 feet tonight and 4,500 feet on Thursday, but temperatures will remain near or below freezing in the passes with a wintry mix expected at Stevens and Snoqualmie passes.
Another wet and windy storm is expected to move in later on Saturday, turning to showers on Sunday, before the final round of wet and windy weather moves through on Monday.
After that it looks like the weather will quiet down a bit as we head towards midweek with only a few showers.
"It looks pretty quiet on Thanksgiving," said Marriott.
Close call in Shoreline
Gusty winds toppled a large tree onto Meridian Avenue near 203rd, bringing down sparking power lines with it.
An 82-year-old woman driving a Toyota Camry narrowly escaped with her life.
"The high-tension wires did break the fall of the tree, but it did collide with the passenger side of the vehicle," says Sgt. Chad Devore with Shoreline Police.
Fortunately, the only thing damaged besides the power lines and the woman's car were her nerves.
The tree in a front yard in Richmond Beach blew over early this evening.
"The windows rattled, the floor shook, and then the power went out," said 15-year-old Dylan O'Leary.
The tree in his yard knocked out power to the entire neighborhood.
