Even after the rain ends and waters recede, after workers remove trees and clean up landslides, after engineers finally get a good look at the damage to the region’s roads and bridges, Washington state’s transportation system faces a long, expensive and daunting road to recovery following this month’s devastating weather.
Yet an even more elusive — and immediate — task is determining when traffic will flow again on roads like Highway 2, where Tuesday’s news that a 50-mile stretch will be closed for months forced grim questions about the expense of repairing ravaged roads and the immediate economic future of communities in the Cascades.
Power outages are widespread across Western Washington on Wednesday morning, with hundreds of thousands of customers affected.
The outages come as blizzard and high wind warnings hit the region. Alpental ski area near Snoqualmie Pass saw a 112 mph wind gust at 2 a.m. Wednesday, while the pass itself saw an 82 mph gust, according to the National Weather Service.
Downed trees and mudslides have already affected numerous roads, including Interstate 5 near Joint Base Lewis-McChord where power lines were downed.
Meanwhile, various rivers across the region are still seeing flooding as the atmospheric river continues and officials release water from dams. King County officials say the Cedar River has reached the stage where severe flooding is expected.
Stevens Pass on Highway 2 was closed between Skykomish and Leavenworth due to water and debris over the roadway in multiple sites. The closure could remain for months, Gov. Bob Ferguson said Tuesday.
[Note: lights stayed on last night. No need for flashlight.]
One fatality so far -- man drowns after ignoring road closed sign. They found him in 6 feet of water.
A storm brought high winds and heavy rain to Western Washington overnight into Wednesday, leaving more than 200,000 customers in the dark after days of flooding.
Wind speeds reached the 50s and 60s in Seattle and surrounding areas early Wednesday.
As of 6 a.m., about 142,000 Puget Sound Energy customers had lost power. Whidbey Island was entirely in a blackout, as were residents in the Mount Vernon area.
Island, Pierce, Skagit and Thurston counties experienced the bulk of the outages, according to PSE. The utility stated that it’s brought in additional crews from outside the region to assist in restoring service.
Road closures
Here’s which main roads are closed due to the storm besides Highway 2.
White Pass was closed Wednesday morning due to numerous fallen trees over the roadway.
Both directions of Highway 12 were blocked to traffic for 48 miles from 4 miles east of Packwood to the Oak Creek Feeding Station near Naches. There is no estimated reopening time, said the Washington State Department of Transportation. -- nordy
Six Signs Santa Claus Is Really A Cat 1. Shows up when food is left out 2. Appears out of nowhere and leaves without a sound 3. Has a house full of staff doing everything for him 4. Only active while you're sleeping 5. Inspects every box 6. Expects treats wherever he goes
While residents were devastated by flooding in many parts of Western Washington, those in Seattle escaped the past week’s weather event largely unscathed.
For the most part, that is thanks to Seattle’s unique geographic landscape and lack of major rivers throughout most of the city, National Weather Service meteorologist Kayla Mazurkiewicz said.
While communities a mere 20 miles away from the city were soaked by a series of atmospheric rivers, Seattle experienced dramatically less rainfall and had only a few localized road floods.
“It has to do a lot with Seattle’s geographical area,” Mazurkiewicz said Wednesday. “It rained, but it didn’t bring as much as it did in the Cascades.“ -- nordy
Sounds like us here in the Pioneer Valley. We do get storms, but not as often or, usually, as severe as elsewhere in W. Mass. Geography really can make quite a difference.
Glad you're safe, Nordy. Sending you good vibes all the same.
In a stunning blow to Johnson, four GOP lawmakers agree to back a Democratic push to extend Obamacare subsidies
ReplyDeleteJohnson's days as speaker may be numbered. -- nordy
ReplyDeleteLet's hope so!
DeleteWednesday update -- Seattle Times
ReplyDeleteEven after the rain ends and waters recede, after workers remove trees and clean up landslides, after engineers finally get a good look at the damage to the region’s roads and bridges, Washington state’s transportation system faces a long, expensive and daunting road to recovery following this month’s devastating weather.
Yet an even more elusive — and immediate — task is determining when traffic will flow again on roads like Highway 2, where Tuesday’s news that a 50-mile stretch will be closed for months forced grim questions about the expense of repairing ravaged roads and the immediate economic future of communities in the Cascades.
Power outages are widespread across Western Washington on Wednesday morning, with hundreds of thousands of customers affected.
The outages come as blizzard and high wind warnings hit the region. Alpental ski area near Snoqualmie Pass saw a 112 mph wind gust at 2 a.m. Wednesday, while the pass itself saw an 82 mph gust, according to the National Weather Service.
Downed trees and mudslides have already affected numerous roads, including Interstate 5 near Joint Base Lewis-McChord where power lines were downed.
Meanwhile, various rivers across the region are still seeing flooding as the atmospheric river continues and officials release water from dams. King County officials say the Cedar River has reached the stage where severe flooding is expected.
Stevens Pass on Highway 2 was closed between Skykomish and Leavenworth due to water and debris over the roadway in multiple sites. The closure could remain for months, Gov. Bob Ferguson said Tuesday.
[Note: lights stayed on last night. No need for flashlight.]
One fatality so far -- man drowns after ignoring road closed sign. They found him in 6 feet of water.
more to kum
-- nordy
Power outages
ReplyDeleteA storm brought high winds and heavy rain to Western Washington overnight into Wednesday, leaving more than 200,000 customers in the dark after days of flooding.
Wind speeds reached the 50s and 60s in Seattle and surrounding areas early Wednesday.
As of 6 a.m., about 142,000 Puget Sound Energy customers had lost power. Whidbey Island was entirely in a blackout, as were residents in the Mount Vernon area.
Island, Pierce, Skagit and Thurston counties experienced the bulk of the outages, according to PSE. The utility stated that it’s brought in additional crews from outside the region to assist in restoring service.
Road closures
Here’s which main roads are closed due to the storm besides Highway 2.
White Pass was closed Wednesday morning due to numerous fallen trees over the roadway.
Both directions of Highway 12 were blocked to traffic for 48 miles from 4 miles east of Packwood to the Oak Creek Feeding Station near Naches. There is no estimated reopening time, said the Washington State Department of Transportation. -- nordy
Forgot to note that only 200 customers in Seattle lost power last night. -- nordy
DeleteThanks for the update, Nordy. It certainly makes for sobering reading.
DeleteSeen on Facebook
ReplyDeleteSix Signs Santa Claus Is Really A Cat
1. Shows up when food is left out
2. Appears out of nowhere and leaves without a sound
3. Has a house full of staff doing everything for him
4. Only active while you're sleeping
5. Inspects every box
6. Expects treats wherever he goes
Hah!
Delete😆 🤣 🤣
DeleteLooks like the atmospheric river is also bringing flooding to the Oregon coast. Not a surprise, really. It's all so terrible!
ReplyDeleteIt's also causing trouble in the Frasier River Valley in British Columbia. -- nordy
DeleteMIT professor's killing remains a mystery as police launch homicide investigation - Click
ReplyDeleteThe perfect polymer? Plant-based plastic is fully saltwater degradable and leaves behind zero microplastics - Click
ReplyDeleteHope we can launch a crash campaign to replace regular plastic. -- nordy
DeleteOh yeah!
DeleteWhy I'm not worried
ReplyDeleteWhile residents were devastated by flooding in many parts of Western Washington, those in Seattle escaped the past week’s weather event largely unscathed.
For the most part, that is thanks to Seattle’s unique geographic landscape and lack of major rivers throughout most of the city, National Weather Service meteorologist Kayla Mazurkiewicz said.
While communities a mere 20 miles away from the city were soaked by a series of atmospheric rivers, Seattle experienced dramatically less rainfall and had only a few localized road floods.
“It has to do a lot with Seattle’s geographical area,” Mazurkiewicz said Wednesday. “It rained, but it didn’t bring as much as it did in the Cascades.“ -- nordy
Sounds like us here in the Pioneer Valley. We do get storms, but not as often or, usually, as severe as elsewhere in W. Mass. Geography really can make quite a difference.
DeleteGlad you're safe, Nordy. Sending you good vibes all the same.
Vibes received! -- nordy
DeleteVERY relieved to know you remain safe, nordy...especially after reading your posts!!!
DeleteVibing from Vermont too!!