At least 4 dead after powerful atmospheric river event clobbers West Coast

SEATTLE – At least four people are dead after an atmospheric river event, with an embedded bomb cyclone, blasted the U.S. West Coast and parts of Canada, leaving thousands without power.

During the height of the event, nearly 1 million customers lost power across the Pacific Coast, with hurricane-force wind gusts pushing trees into power lines.

At least two people were killed in Northwest Washington due to falling trees, while flooding and rough seas claimed the lives of at least two others in California.

In Stanwood, Washington, an Amtrak train struck a tree, causing significant damage to the engine, though none of the dozens of passengers aboard sustained serious injuries.

The bomb cyclone nearly broke records for its strength, dropping to around 945 millibars while off the coast of Washington and even triggered a Tornado Warning northwest of Portland, Oregon.

On satellite, the storm system’s classic signature had some describing the structure as if it was a hurricane, making the event likely to be remembered for decades.

AMTRAK TRAIN IMPALED BY TREE NEAR SEATTLE DURING BOMB CYCLONE WINDSTORM

Power restoration to take days

Puget Sound Energy, the largest energy provider in The Evergreen State, said its crew found a more substantial amount of damage than anticipated, and it will likely take several more days for power to be restored to all of its customers.

As of Saturday, more than 74,000 outages were reported across the state, with Snohomish and King counties having the most outstanding issues, according to data from PowerOutage.us.

“We know this is disappointing as you expected to have your power back on tomorrow,” Puget Sound Energy posted on social media.

The power provider brought in hundreds of support personnel to assist in the restoration of infrastructure to hospitals and substations, before working their way into the rural and harder hit neighborhoods.

“This system was so strong that it was comparable to a hurricane and did unprecedented damage to our high-voltage transmission system – the poles and wires that carry electricity from where it is produced to the communities we serve. Without fixing those lines first, we cannot get power back into many neighborhoods. Much of this work takes place in hard to reach, remote parts of western Washington,” the company told customers.

WHAT IS AN ATMOSPHERIC RIVER?

Inclement weather for West Coast not over

Rounds of precipitation from the Pacific Ocean are expected to impact the West Coast over the early Thanksgiving Day week.

Most of the weather is expected to impact communities south of Seattle and north of Los Angeles, with snowfall expected in the Sierra Nevada.

The FOX Forecast Center says the wave of moisture will be less severe than the previous atmospheric event, but the combination of saturated grounds and millions of travelers will increase exposure during the upcoming event.

A National Weather Service observation site in Santa Rosa, California, reported 12.47″ over a three-day period during the previous week, qualifying the rainfall as a 1 out of 1,000-year event.

These record amounts of precipitation are unlikely to repeat themselves as the future event will be narrower in scope and will be traveling much quicker. 

The greatest precipitation chances in the Golden State will be Monday before impacts spread over more inland locations of the western U.S.