Wind Advisory Issued For Tuesday, Power Outages Likely

WASHINGTON — Monday evening's blustery weather is expected to only get worse Tuesday.

In advance of the windstorm, the National Weather Service has issued a wind advisory for much the Puget Sound region Tuesday. The warning, which goes into effect at 8 a.m. and runs through 5 p.m. in the evening, stretches from Pierce County and Tacoma, up through much of King County, including Seattle and Redmond, and even patches of eastern Kitsap, like Bremerton and Bainbridge Island.

During that time, the weather service says residents should expect south winds ranging from 20 to 35 mph with gusts reaching up to 50 mph. Winds will be strong enough to knock down tree limbs and push about any unsecured objects, so residents should bring loose ends inside or tie down what they can. Drivers are also being asked to use extra caution while on the road, and everyone should be prepared for the possibility of intermittent power outages caused by fallen trees and damaged power lines.

Coastal Washington will be hit much worse, and meteorologists predict gusts up to 65 miles per hour along the coast, as well as in Whatcom and Skagit counties and the San Juan Islands.

The wind will be joined by light rains, though most of Puget Sound is forecasted to receive an inch or less, and there are no threats of flooding outside the already-elevated Skokomish River.

By Tuesday afternoon, winds will have calmed significantly, though meteorologists say to expect breezy conditions through the night, even after the wind advisory ends at 5 p.m. Following that, the National Weather Service predicts a calmer Wednesday with light rains, then passing rain in the lowlands Thursday. By Friday the rains should have dissipated, but gusty winds may return.