The Big May Blow

 The mid-May wind event is now past its peak, but not before thousands of customers lost power.

The water vapor satellite image at 4 AM this morning was impressive, with plumes of moisture circling into the clear "eye" of the storm.  Not your typical May satellite image!

The maximum wind gusts ranged from around 50 mph on the coast and 50-55 mph over Northwest Washington to over 60 mph on the eastern slopes of the Cascades.  


But if you really like winds, head to Mount Rainier, where gusts hit Camp Muir (at 10,000 ft), 52 mph at Sunrise Ranger station, and 66 mph at Crystal Mountain.


Strong winds combined with leafed trees led to power outages around the region, with about 5000 City Light customers losing power and roughly 20,000 Puget Sound Energy users (see outage maps below)


And now the exciting news, we FINALLY will have a truly decent weekend coming up.  In western Washington, highs reach the mid-60s on Saturday and around 70F on Sunday (see forecast map for Sunday at 5 PM below).  Even mid-70s in the Columbia Basin.  Get ready to garden, hike, or take a stroll outside.  It will be perfect...for a change.

but not before thousands of customers lost power The Big May Blow




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