In Seattle and neighboring cities, strong winds are tumbling trees, with some falling on houses and placing lives at risk.
In Lynnwood, north of Seattle, a woman in her 50s was killed when a large tree fell on a homeless encampment shortly after 7 p.m. PT, South County Fire Department told CNN.
More than 650,000 customers lost power in the early hours of Wednesday in Washington, while about 140,000 customers were without power in British Columbia, BC Hydro reported on its website. As of midnight PT, over 24,000 customers in California were without power.
The National Weather Service has reported notable wind gusts across the region, including off the coast of British Columbia, where winds were blowing at 101 mph at the South Brooks Buoy.
Gusts of 72 to 77 mph were recorded in Washington state, including at Cape Elizabeth on the Olympic Peninsula and at Crystal Mountain and Sunrise-Mount Rainier inland southeast of Seattle.
“It’s severe out there. Trees are coming down all over the city, with multiple falling onto homes,” the fire department in Bellevue, east of Seattle, posted in a Severe Weather Safety alert on Facebook. “If you are able, head to the lowest floor you can and stay away from windows. Do not go outside if you can avoid it.”
Videos obtained by CNN show multiple fallen trees on power lines in Lake Stevens, Snohomish County, north of Seattle, with Snohomish Regional Fire and Rescue saying that there are “many trees and power lines down.”
In Maple Valley, a city southeast of Seattle, two people were rescued after a tree fell on their trailer, according to Puget Sound Fire. One patient was freed quickly, while it took firefighters an hour to extricate the second. Both patients were transferred to a nearby hospital.
An Amtrak train collided with a fallen tree near an intersection in Stanwood, north of Seattle on Tuesday night, according to CNN affiliate KIRO. The incident left the train inoperable, though none of the 47 passengers on board sustained injuries, KIRO reported. CNN reached out to Amtrak for more information.
Several school districts in western Washington will be closed or delayed on Wednesday due to the impact of the storm.
“Due to widespread power outages, fallen trees, and high winds in some areas, all school buildings will be closed on Wednesday, November 20th, and all after-school activities have been canceled,” the Eatonville School District, 60 miles south of Seattle, shared on social media.
Across western Oregon, winds of 30 to 50 mph were reported with gusts along the coast and offshore reaching over 70 mph late Tuesday. In Northern California, gusts offshore reached 60 mph with the high peaks in Humboldt reaching 80 mph.
