A wild windstorm may be on the way

[uppityperson]

Hi Puget Sound Washingtonians. I'm not posting much but wanted to pass this on, jut in case you don't watch weather stuff. Hoping for a fairly peaceful weather fall.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/335746_weather17.html
Seattle could be hit with a wild windstorm Thursday, but how severe the winds will be depends on where the storm goes on Wednesday, a National Weather Service spokesman said.

A high wind watch was issued for Thursday afternoon for the north and central coast of Washington, where winds are expected to be between 30 and 40 mph, with gusts to 60 mph.

"If the storm goes north toward Vancouver Island, we may not see anything out of the ordinary in Seattle," National Weather Service spokesman Johnny Berg said Tuesday evening, when the storm was about 1,300 miles off the Washington coast. "If it goes over the Olympics, we could see some good winds here in Seattle."

In that scenario, winds could be between 20 and 30 mph, with gusts to 50, Berg said. But meteorologists said that even in the worst-case scenario, winds won't have the intensity of those from the Hanukkah Eve storm last year.

[uppityperson]

1. This warning is for W WA, including mostly people on the coast

Sounds like the coast will get slammed, and whether or not it continues to Puget Sound is up for grabs. Coast people, good luck. Those further in the straits and around the sound, get ready too. Fall is here.

Stl Times says if it hits the Cities, it will be during rush hour and early eve tomorrow.

Here's a bit for the coast:
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/total_forecast/marine.php?marine=PZZ150
COASTAL WATERS FROM CAPE FLATTERY TO JAMES ISLAND 20 TO 60 NM-
WATERS FROM JAMES ISLAND TO POINT GRENVILLE 20 TO 60 NM-
COASTAL WATERS FROM POINT GRENVILLE TO CAPE SHOALWATER 20 TO
60 NM-
250 PM PDT WED OCT 17 2007

...STORM WARNING IN EFFECT THURSDAY MORNING...
...GALE WARNING IN EFFECT FROM THURSDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH
THURSDAY EVENING...

.TONIGHT...SW WIND 10 TO 20 KT BECOMING SE AND RISING TO 20 TO 30
KT AFTER MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT BUILDING TO 7 TO 9 FT
AFTER MIDNIGHT. W SWELL 16 FT AT 13 SECONDS BUILDING TO 18 FT AT
14 SECONDS. SHOWERS DIMINISHING. RAIN AFTER MIDNIGHT.

[Mojambo]

2. I really can't go through the power outtages again.

Last December was NOT a fun time.

:scared:

[uppityperson]

3. We had our big windstorm a few wks before the rest of the area had theirs.

Trees down all over here on the Olympic Peninsula, then peace when the wind hit the rest of the area in Dec. Cousins lost their house to 4 trees and should be getting back home about now. Flashlights, check!

[Mojambo]

4. We were out for 8 days.

And I know other people had it much worse, but damn... That was the longest 8 days of my life.

[Mrs. Overall]

5. Hi Uppity! I've been following the development of this storm as well. Looks like

your area will be hit a little harder with wind than North Kitsap, where I live. It's absolutly pouring here right now (7:50 am). I think NK is not scheduled to get the peak winds until between 3-5 this afternoon.

Stay safe and warm!

[uppityperson]

6. I'm in the rain shadow's rain shadow here.

Grey. Drip drip drip. However, we have some trees that have been keeping an eye on, may make it difficult getting in our road this afternoon. I need to make sure we have chainsaw gas around. Stay safe and warm.

[flamingyouth]

7. Hope this won't be much.

I feel like the last windstorm was just a couple of months ago, practically. Of course, the lousy summer we had probably doesn't help matters. At least this fall we have a battery-powered radio. During the last extended power-outage that was the one thing we realized we were lacking.

[SeattleGirl]

8. After the last storm, I stocked up on candles, batteries, etc.

It's blowing rather strongly around here right now.

[regnaD kciN]

9. Let's blog the storm...!

(At least, as long as we still have power -- ours went out momentarily in Maple Valley, but returned quickly.)

It's been weird around here. The general pattern for us in the Cascade foothills is to get a strong east wind from the other side of the mountain passes for several hours before the "main event" begins for those in Seattle and the lowlands, but also for the south wind that then hits those areas to be slightly to considerably less strong here than in the Renton-Kent-Auburn valley. Today, we got those east winds, and we're now getting them out of the south, but, for about an hour, we were getting strong, gusty west winds, which almost never happens, and certainly not when we have a big low-pressure area moving from our west to our north. It was really odd, and more than a little unsettling.

Right now, winds from the south, moderate strength.

[maxsolomon]

10. Windstorm 2007! Panic now!

Windstorm 2007 is no Rainstorm 2006.

[regnaD kciN]

11. It isn't going to be another Chaunakah Eve Storm...

...but good-sized storms around here can be interesting, simply because there's so much difference in terrain that it can be awful in one area and practically calm in one a few miles away.

We just got a pretty good southerly gust here...I'm looking out the window to my east and seeing some of the bigger trees bending in the wind. How are things where you are?

P.S.: A couple of minutes later -- still windy, but a clearing opened up over the house, bringing a few moments of bright sunlight to the gray day.

P.P.S.: A few minutes after that, we lost power for a bit. Obviously, it's back now.

[maxsolomon]

12. Elliot Bay is blustery

but i've seen worse.

[regnaD kciN]

13. Well, that was exciting (and NOT in a good way)...

About an hour ago, KIRO reported that live power wires had come down across a school bus "in the Maple Valley area" -- specifically, a block or so away from my daughter's school, at just about the time her bus would be leaving. :scared:

I checked a few minutes later, and she had arrived at day-care safely, so I guess it wasn't her bus...

Winds had been calm for awhile, but just picked up again here.

[uppityperson]

14. Quimper Peninsula report...

Power flickered several times, even made the dog bark, but didn't go out. I had computer off, just turned it back on for a few. Over here it seems to be normal windy. We had wind a couple wks ago that knocked down loose stuff. Mr. UP is due home soon so I'll get the out and about report. We get different weather than you do over on east side. Welcome to the fall windy season.

[regnaD kciN]

15. It's starting to wind down here...

...although, when I went to pick up my daughter from day-care, I was surprised to realize that at least half of the area was without power. Since it was on where I was, I assumed no one had much of a problem. Power had been out to the daycare for three hours (which they managed to forget to tell me both of the times I called -- had I known, I would have gone to get her early, and not had her sitting around day care with only a flashlight for illumnation).

[pnwmom]

18. I had to take an alternate route home today because of a downed tree.

We'll probably see a lot of those this winter, if it's like last year.

[opiate69]

16. Seems to be pretty much over now down here in Nisqually..

although, Mounts Road is still closed.. apparently a power line came down around 4 and started a small fire..

[opiate69]

21. 20 minutes after that last post, we lost power for 8 hours...

:banghead:

[icymist]

22. Whatcha banging your head for?

This kind of stuff happenens, especially in the Pacific NW!

[opiate69]

23. Hehe.. just the irony of declaring the "all clear", then losing power right after.

[pnwmom]

17. So, another la nina coming up. Is this the year to finally buy a generator?

Last year we were without power for 9 days around Christmas. Hated it.

[uppityperson]

19. You'd be better set for the earthquake also

Just make sure you cycle your gas. Don't keep gas yr to yr. I asked Santa for a small gas chainsaw for x-mas last yr but must've been a bad girl. I've tried to be better this yr, if he doesn't bring me one I'm buying one.

[icymist]

20. Well, we lost power and telephone for nine hours in Port Orchard.

I'm just glad it was a warm wind that was blowing in this storm. Today, we're getting lightning strikes every now and then. It seem a little strange to have two storm systems so close together and this early in the season.