PORT ANGELES — The winds from the bomb cyclone that swept through western Washington earlier this week felled trees, caused road closures and shut off power for thousands of Clallam County residents. Jefferson County remained largely unharmed.
As of 1 p.m. Wednesday, 812 Clallam County electric meters were without power, mostly on the west end of the county, according to an outage map.
Nicole Harman, communications and government relations manager for Clallam County PUD, said the outages were a result of fallen trees that had hit power lines. Crews had begun working to restore power, but Hartman said she was unsure when the power would be fully restored.
Two Jefferson County electric meters did not have power as of 1 p.m Wednesday.
During the height of the storm about 5 p.m. Tuesday, more than 11,000 power outages were reported in Clallam County, mostly between Sequim and Port Angeles, while none were reported in Jefferson County.
In the city of Port Angeles, about 140 utility customers lost power Tuesday night due to high winds and fallen trees; power was completely restored by 10 a.m. Wednesday, according to city press releases.
The storm also caused downed trees and slides on state Highway 112, resulting in a closure between mileposts 0 and 7. Maintenance crews began removing downed trees and debris Wednesday afternoon after an engineering geologist evaluated the area.
The state Department of Transportation (WSDOT) did not have an estimate of when the highway would reopen “due to the number of downed trees,” according to a press release. Real-time travel data can be checked on WSDOT’s website.
Bomb cyclones can happen in quick succession, so a second low-pressure system may hit western Washington later this week, The Seattle Times reported.
As of Wednesday, the National Weather Service (NWS) was predicting a similar weather pattern might hit the area Friday, although with much weaker winds.
NWS meteorologist Samantha Borth said winds at Neah Bay and Port Townsend likely would be between 20 to 25 mph with gusts of 30 to 35 mph, with slightly stronger winds offshore.
In Port Angeles and Sequim, sustained winds likely will be about 15 mph with gusts between 20 and 25 mph.
High winds on Tuesday tore the plastic shrink wrap encapsulating a 400-foot-long Navy berthing barge under repair by Platypus Marine at the Port of Port Angeles’ Marine Trade Center. Platypus sent out a plane to locate the wayward pieces of plastic, which were retrieved before they could escape Port Angeles Harbor and enter the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The company will have to re-wrap the barge in order to complete its work. (Paula Hunt/Peninsula Daily News)
