A Second Bite at the Apple

 As Western Washington recovers from a major windstorm Tuesday night, another one is beginning to take shape. We don’t expect this one to be as bad as the last but with over 250K still in the dark, this could be problematic for restoration efforts. 


Looking at satellite imagery, the remnants of our previous bomb cyclone are visible to the west of BC. This storm will slowly meander around and weaken over the next day. Our eyes are on the system to the left of the image. This system will rapidly intensify as it moves northeast. The exact track of the storm will have massive implications on the magnitude of the wind in Western Washington.



Most models have the low tracking offshore at around 980 MB. A strong low but too offshore to produce significant winds inland. Good news for PSE!! However we will still keep an eye as these late forming lows are difficult to predict. If it does track inland, significant impacts are likely. This scenario is probably not going to happen but needs to be watched. 

NWS of Seattle has issued wind advisories for the East Puget Lowlands and the coast. Another round of east winds is likely in the early morning hours tmrw before it switches to southerly winds. North Bend, Enumclaw will bear the brunt of the blow. Though not as bad as last time, gusts up to 60 MPH will be possible before the switch. Further inland, Sammamish, Redmond and Bellevue will experience gusts up to 45 MPH. The Eastside experienced one of their worst windstorms Tuesday night so I hope the winds stay on the lower end and do not disrupt restoration efforts. As the winds switch to southerly, the coast will feel winds roar up to 65 MPH. The NWS might as well include Seattle and Tacoma in the wind advisory as they will experience gusts up to 45 MPH.

I want to emphasize that this storm will not be as bad as the storm on Tuesday but impacts are still possible. Necessary precautions should be taken. Charge electronics and make sure you have water and food especially since this storm could delay restoration efforts. More power outages are likely.

Lastly, a shout out to the NWS. Their forecasts on Tuesday were spot on. A lot of people(me included) doubted the westward extent of the winds, but the NWS nailed the forecast, issuing high wind warnings well in advance.

Stay safe!!

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