Associated Press - November 19, 2009 2:05 AM ET
SEATTLE (AP) - Another strong Pacific storm has brought high winds to the Washington coast and northwest interior of the state, with accompanying power outages. The storm has also brought rain in the lowlands and snow in the mountains.
National Weather Service forecaster Jay Albrecht says Washington's north coast has seen the strongest winds Wednesday night, with gusts just off Olympic National Park measured at 66 mph and a peak gust of 81 mph. In the northwest interior, Cherry Point near Ferndale had a 64 mph gust and Friday Harbor in the San Juans got a 58 mph blast.
As of 10 p.m. Wednesday, KING-TV reports some 8,000 Clallam County customers without power while another 4,300 lost power in Grays Harbor County and 3,000 Puget Sound Energy customers lost electricity. Seattle and Snohomish County reported scattered outages.
Albrecht says rain has been falling at the rate of a half inch an hour in some areas on the coast and on the Olympic Peninsula.
A winter storm warning for heavy snow is in effect for the Olympic Mountains and the west slopes of the Cascades.
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