10 AM Update: About 85,000 power customers have lost power in western WA.
The most recent model forecasts are shifting the low center towards us, illustrated by the animation below.
This means more pressure difference (gradient) over Puget Sound and NW Washington, which means more wind, particularly over and near Puget Sound.
Before I show you the latest wind forecast, below are the maximum winds so far today (through 7 PM).
40-50 mph northeast of the Olympics and along the Washington Coast. 35-40 mph along the western foothills of the Cascades. Only a few scattered outages so far....but the big action is in the future.
Below is the forecast of max winds for 10 AM Saturday from the model run made yesterday evening. Blue and orange are the highest winds. NW Washington is heavily impacted but most of Puget Sound country is spared.
I expect some outages over NW Seattle through Shoreline through Whidbey Is, increasing in severity to the north. There may also be some outages from the NW Olympic Peninsula through the San Juans to Bellingham.
The power utilities should prepare overnight, get rested, and be ready to roll by 7-8 AM, with the strongest winds around 10 AM.
Tomorrow morning, I will discuss the situation in my Patreon session and then try my new (low-cost, black Friday) generator, which hopefully won't be needed. I am tired of throwing food away.
______
I will hold a special online zoom session at 10 AM on Saturday for Patreon supporters. I will discuss the storm and answer your questions....assuming my power does not go out!
These days everyone has a generator. It used to be that during a power outage, the neighborhood would be completely silent, which was a pleasant experience. Now, it's noisier outside than it is normally when the power is on. We humans and the things we do..
ReplyDeleteYep, as a child, I remember when the power was out, everybody left their homes and walked around the neighborhood, actually talking to neighbors!
DeleteYes, I remember when I was a kid and we lost power, we used kerosene lamps and sat around the fire. And if necessary, we cooked on camp stoves. Food should keep at least 2-3 days if the fridge is kept closed. When the power fails, eat the most perishable things first. You only really need a generator if there is something really critical, like a medical device, that can't be handled with batteries. Certainly you can go a couple days without landline phone or internet, even central heat. People are such wimps nowadays.
DeleteAs long as there's no injuries, I'm really loving this wind storm!!!
ReplyDeleteNot me. I came very close to eating a tree that had come down halfway in my lane, near Bucoda. If I wasn't driving at a slower speed, I'd have plowed right into it
DeleteAll of Whidbey Island is out. I saw one tree on some power lines along 525. One tree was down on a feeder road. I was able to drag it only about 4 feet before my roap snapped, but it did give a little more space. Note to self: place the chainsaw in the car end of October.
ReplyDeleteChimes are definitely getting a workout.
Kingston is out!
ReplyDeleteNothing out in San Juan County our community power company OPALCO has done a great job under grounding much of the grid and clearing trees near above ground power lines! Lesson here for other communities.
ReplyDelete@ Veloda
ReplyDeleteIt is not a great idea to transport a gasoline chainsaw or a gas can in a closed auto.
I suggest you investigate before doing so.
True, electric.
DeleteJohn, you can buy Scepter military fuel cans in Canada that seal fuel vapors without venting them to the outside. They're also a lot easier to pour than EPA-compliant cans in our market which seem almost willfully designed to spill fuel everywhere. Common sizes are 10L and 20L. They're not cheap, but they last a lifetime. They work great as reserve tanks for vehicles going far from civilization.
Delete@herrbrahms. Thanks for sharing about these cans. Fuel leaking/spills from fuel cans is one of the banes of dealing with fuel. I’ll check them out.
DeleteHi Cliff hope your black friday generator works out well. Last year I as well got a cheap predator generator from harbor freight. And here in Maple valley I have used it 3 times the most extensive use was on the last east winds event in November. Ran for 3 days. Outstanding generator for the price.
ReplyDeletePower is still out where we live near Kingston. What I think is interesting is that we didn't lose power from the recent cosmic bomb typhoon windstorm. I just love the vagaries of weather.
ReplyDeletenot vagaries.... the wind distribution were different for good physical reasons...
DeleteIn the Grand Mound area, south, it just got a little breezy. Of course the TV stations said the Chehalis area was going to get 40+ gusts. That seemed odd as there weren't even wind advisories away from the water. I saw several branches and a handful of small trees in the road that morning, but no power outages
ReplyDelete