Very wet, windy storm blows into Pacific Northwest

A powerful, wet and windy storm blew into the Pacific Northwest late Monday and Tuesday, bringing heavy rain over a wide area, knocking out power to thousands and raising a threat of flooding in the valleys and avalanches in the mountains.

A high wind warning was in place for much of the area as winds gusted past 40 mph at the Bend Airport overnight Monday and Tuesday morning.

Pacific Power officials reported an outage at Crooked River Ranch shortly after 7 a.m. knocked out power to more than 1,100 customers. Power was restored by shortly after 9 a.m.

Utility spokesman Tom Gauntt said it was caused by a small pole fire of undetermined origin.

In Madras, Jefferson County Fire District No. 1 crews responded Tuesday morning to a power pole on fire and a transformer hanging on by a wire amid high winds. Capt. Kasey Kaar said a block of First Street was closed and homeowners notified to stay inside due to downed lines until repairs were made.

Other outages also were occurring, including one affecting 129 customers in Redmond, reported just after 9 a.m. Track Pacific Power’s outage map here.

NewsChannel 21 Chief Meteorologist Bob Shaw said the heavy rain would be followed by showers through the day and more high winds in the afternoon, likely 35-40 mph. He said the storm also is expected to dump 1-2 feet of fresh snow on Mt. Bachelor.

Weather observers already reported nearly a half-inch of rain in the Sisters area and more than a third of an inch in Bend by Tuesday morning, with much heavier amounts to the north, in Washington state — over two inches at Trout Lake and an inch and a half at White Salmon.

Elsewhere, high winds and heavy rains knocked out power to 17,000 people in northwestern Oregon, and winter warnings went into effect in western Washington.

On the Oregon coast, an observer near Yachats reported 4.29 inches of rain in 24 hours — and in the Coast Range, Lees Camp recorded a 5.7-inch rainfall total. In the Willamette Valley, Falls City also had nearly five inches of rain.

Portland General Electric crews were working to restore power Tuesday in Portland and surrounding areas amid rainfall and wind gusts. A flood watch is in effect until Wednesday for the Portland area and much of western Oregon.

Pacific Power said some 3,700 homes were without power on the southern Oregon coast.

Check the latest travel conditions at our ODOT TripCheck page.

In Washington, Puget Sound Energy said about 3,400 customers were starting the day without power.

The National Weather Service said it measured wind gusts along the coast at 62 mph in Washington state and at Cape Foulweather on the Oregon coast. Lowlands will continue getting soaking rain that will turn to snow in the mountains.

Officials also said southwest Washington and the Olympic Peninsula have an increased risk of flooding.

The Northwest Avalanche Center issued an avalanche warning for the Washington Cascades and south to Mount Hood for “very dangerous avalanche conditions” due to continued loading from snow, rain and wind.

Washington’s Snoqualmie Pass area reported about eight inches of snow overnight, and I-90 was closed between North Bend and Ellensburg due to vehicle spinouts amid heavy snow and poor visibility.