Northwest Wind Storm Kills 3 And Leaves 1 Million Without Power

Gov. Jay Inslee declared a state of emergency Wednesday in Washington state after days of rain and a powerful storm Tuesday killed three people, cut power to more than 350,000 residents and flooded rivers.

Crews in Spokane were working to clear at least 175 fallen trees that blocked streets and slowed the morning commute.

One of the victims was a motorist who died in Monroe, a city in Snohomish County, according to Merlin Halverson, the country’s fire chief. The Seattle Times reported that two mudslides also occurred, closing the North Cascades Highway near Newhalem and another blocking access to Diablo.

The storm toppled trees, power lines and littered roads with debris, according to Reuters.

Classes in Spokane, Washington, are canceled Wednesday after severe weather downed trees and left widespread power outages in the area. In Spokane, winds topped out at 71 mph; 101 mph in Bonner County, 67 mpg in Kootenai County and 82 mph in Shoshone County.

The Washington State Patrol briefly closed Interstate 90 between the towns of Vantage and George in central Washington after winds. Three people died:Avista: now, 139,000 Avista customers throughout Washington and Idaho are without power, down from 180,000 at the height of the hurricane-force winds. Oregon Department of Transportation officials said they expected the closure to last until about noon Wednesday.

The storm that originated in the Gulf of Alaska could be a harbinger of El Nino, the ocean-warming phenomenon that’s predicted to bring heavy rain to the West in the coming months, said Kathy Hoxsie of the National Weather Service. Officials said that number had dropped to about 30,000 by Wednesday evening and predicted most would regain power by Thursday.

To the north, in Snohomish County, the public utility district said about 40,000 customers were without power late on Wednesday, down from 150,000 the night before. The city closed schools after winds up to 70 miles per hour (113 kph) tore through the area.

The storm dumped over a foot of snow in a few parts of the plains and strong winds created snow drifts several feet high.