Bomb Cyclone Kills at Least Two People in Seattle Metro Area

At least two people are dead and thousands more are without power after a bomb cyclone hit the Pacific Northwest and Northern California. Here is the latest on this developing situation.

Bomb Cyclone Ravages Pacific Northwest

The metro area of Seattle was hit particularly hard by a bomb cyclone that developed in the Pacific Ocean on Tuesday. The massive weather maker unleashed damaging winds, heavy rain, and mountain snow for a region stretching from Washington, through Oregon, and down into Northern California. In addition to the impacts from the bomb cyclone, an atmospheric river is amplifying the precipitation totals.

Winds began whipping around Tuesday afternoon as the storm approached the coast. A top gust of 85 mph was recorded in Oregon while a gust of over 100 mph was notched off the coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada.

The storm was designated as a bomb cyclone when the central pressure dropped to a reading of 942 millibars, according to a 10 pm EST report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Officials believe that this system will come in as the strongest storm ever recorded off the coast of Washington. An October 2021 storm hit a reading of 942.5 millibars.

The system proved deadly as a result of the high winds. South County Fire in Snohomish County north of Seattle confirmed that a woman in her 50s died when winds brought down a tree in a homeless encampment. Another fatality was reported in nearby Kirkland when a tree fell on a home while a woman was in the shower.

Two people were injured when a tree came crashing down on a trailer in Maple Valley, Washington. The victims had to be rescued after being trapped inside the trailer. Both people were hospitalized as a result of their injuries.

Widespread power outages are also impacting the region. Over 600,000 customers were without power in Washington state as of Wednesday morning. An additional 92,000 people are in the dark in British Columbia with 15,000 more outages reported in Northern California.

P​uget Sound Energy said that the storm triggered extensive damage to its power grids. Officials with the energy provider are anticipating a multi-day outage, encouraging customers with critical needs to seek power elsewhere.

Schools across the region have been canceled due to the widespread outages and debris cluttering the roadways.