Updated Nov. 19 at 5 p.m.
NORTH SOUND, NOV. 19: All across the West Coast and into the Puget Sound there will be strong winds resulting in warnings and advisories, with severe rainfall and winter storms in the mountains.
The storm will hit the West Coast Tuesday afternoon, Nov. 19 and last until tomorrow Nov.20.
The storm is expected to turn into a bomb cyclone, a rapid intensification of a cyclone in a short period, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
“A bomb cyclone is defined as an intensifying low-pressure system that drops 24 millibars of atmospheric pressure in 24 hours or less,” Meteorologist Ted Buehner wrote in an email, reporting from the Georgia Emergency Management Association Conference.
The developing bomb cyclone – also known as an atmospheric bomb – was spinning up well off the Washington coast.
Fortunately, the storm is expected to remain over 300 miles offshore and not work its way onshore. Buehner predicts that the outer West coast will receive the brunt of the storm with winds up to 70 mph tonight.
Winds in the North Sound from Whidbey Island northward are expected to have gusts up to 50 mph tonight, Buehner predicts. You can view advisories across Western Washington here.
Buehner said that the Puget Sound has had several similar wind storms this season.
The winds will likely tear off tree limbs or blow down weaker trees and create scattered power outages. If power is lost, try to contact your power company to inform them of the outage and use flashlights for light.
Currently, in Everett there is a high wind warning and a wind advisory from 4 p.m. tonight, Nov. 19 until 4 a.m. tomorrow, Nov. 20. For emergent needs with roads and water/sewer utilities, call Public Works Dispatch at 425-257-8821.
To view the Snohomish County PUD outage map, see here. To report an outage to the Snohomish County PUD, see here.
Call 9-1-1 only to report a life-threatening emergency. For non-emergency needs, submit work requests on Everett at Work.
Here are some safety tips:
- If you are indoors, move away from windows or objects that could fall. Go to lower floors in multi-story homes.
- If you are outdoors, move into a building. Avoid downed electric power lines, utility poles and trees.
- Turn off the stove if you’re cooking when the power goes out and turn off natural gas appliances.
- Keep your refrigerator and freezer doors closed to keep food frozen for up to two days.
- Never operate a generator indoors.
- Treat dark traffic signals as all-ways stops.
- Be sure to check on your neighbors, especially the elderly or disabled, and keep pets secured.
- Do not approach fallen power lines! They could carry enough electricity to prove fatal. Stay at least 30 feet away and call the PUD at 425-783-1001 to report the location. If the situation is life-threatening (such as on top of an occupied car), please call 9-1-1.
An earlier version on of this article mentioned an atmospheric river. That is incorrect. That has been removed from the news brief.
