Reports: More than 300,000 left without power after strong winds blast Washington
Skiers on the slopes of the Snowbasin Resort in Utah had a hard time staying upright on Dec. 31. Savage blasted them making visibility difficult.
The reports below are no longer being updated. Click here for a photos recap of the severe weather.
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Thousands are without power in Washington and mudslides were triggered in Southern California after a strong winter storm slammed into the western United States earlier this weekend.
"A storm packing rain, heavy mountain snow and damaging winds pounded the West Coast of the United States later Saturday into early Sunday, with more storms to come this week," warned AccuWeather Meteorologist Renee Duff.
On Saturday night, over half an inch of rain reportedly fell at the Los Angeles International Airport in just six hours. Farther south, San Diego received nearly an inch by 7:00 a.m. PST.
Download the free AccuWeather app to remain aware of new storm dangers in your community.
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7:16 a.m. PST Sunday
Power restoration continues across the Pacific Northwest.
At the height of the power outages, more than 300,000 customers across Washington were in the dark. That number has been reduced to around 260,000 in Washington, according to poweroutage.us. Nearly 14,000 remain without power in Oregon.
5:30 a.m. PST Sunday
While the winds have subsided in the Pacific Northwest, many communities are still littered with downed trees and power lines. Amid the dark, residents are urged to use extreme caution to avoid coming into contact with the dangerous active power lines.
A fallen tree rests on a power line in Olympia, Washington, on Jan. 6, 2019. (Twitter/@alukomski24)
Tree branches litter a street in Olympia, Washington, during the early morning hours of Jan. 6, 2019. (Twitter/@alukomski24)
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4:31 a.m. PST Sunday
The number of outages across Washington has jumped to more than 300,000, according to poweroutage.us. The majority of those without power are in King, Pierce and Thurston counties.
3:48 a.m. PST Sunday
Rain and a few thunderstorms embedded in this windstorm have prompted a severe thunderstorm warning to be issued just north of Seattle. Hail has been observed within the storm. Wind gusts will continue to exceed 60 mph across western Washington for another hour or so.
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3:00 a.m. PST Sunday
A 60-mph wind gust was recorded at Settle-Tacoma Airport just minutes ago, the strongest gust recorded at the airport since the Hanukkah Eve Storm in 2006.
In just 45 minutes, the estimated amount of customers without power in the state more than doubled, from 54,000 to nearly 172,000.
Strong winds snapped branches early Sunday morning, Jan. 6, 2019, in Lakeland South, Washington. via Twitter/@MiltonWATech99
In the Seattle area, residents awoke to the sound of powerful winds, snapping branches and failing transformers.
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2:15 a.m. PST Sunday
Heavy rain overnight in the Los Angeles area prompted flood warnings and advisories from the National Weather Service overnight. Just north of the city, several roads are closed due to mudslides and flooding between Malibu and Oxnard. A few cars were caught up in the flow, though no deaths or injuries have been reported.
Farther north, strong winds picked up virtually instantaneously across Oregon and Washington. Strong southwest winds reportedly gusted as high as 84 mph on Abernathy Mountain in Washington and 79 mph in Mount Hebo in Oregon.
Otherwise reports generally ranged from 50-70 mph from Medford, Oregon, to Seattle and everywhere in between. Downed trees, snapped branches and other property damage were reported to authorities throughout the night.
Power outages increased along with the wind, and as of 1:00 a.m. PST, over 30,000 customers were without power in Orego,n while Washington outages neared 54,000.
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