High winds and heavy rain are expected to continue across the North Olympic Peninsula throughout today.
Jefferson and Clallam counties were pummeled with high winds on Tuesday that reached gusts around 50 mph at the Jefferson County Courthouse and Quillayute State Airport.
Port Angeles remained the relative eye of the storm, only recording gusts of 23 mph at William R. Fairchild International Airport.
In Port Townsend, easterly winds caused waves to break over the breakwater at Port Townsend Boat Haven.
The strong winds caused a blackout from Blyn to just east of Port Angeles for about two hours when power lines and poles near Chicken Coop Road east of Blyn were toppled by trees.
At about 4 p.m., the downed power lines started a domino effect across the area when the Happy Valley substation south of Sequim lost its electrical feed, said Quimby Moon, an engineer with Clallam County Public Utility District.
Most of the area’s power was restored by about 6 p.m., except for those living near Chicken Coop Road.
Moon said the PUD needs to rebuild electrical poles, which usually take about four to eight hours.
Tuesday’s stormy weather also caused a smaller power outage south of Forks earlier in the day, but no specifics were available on the number of people affected, Moon said.
Wind speeds reached almost 25 mph, with gusts up to 31 mph at about 2 p.m., in Forks.
Two cars also were damaged at the corner of Spartan Avenue and East Division Street in Forks when a maple tree was blown over by the wind.
In addition to the power outages and downed trees, snowy conditions along state Highway 104 near the U.S. Highway 101 junction caused a slippery traffic mess.
