An extended period of hot, dry weather ended Saturday with lightning, heavy rain showers and strong winds that toppled trees and downed power lines throughout the region.
The stormy weather, powered by a low pressure system that was unusually strong for late summer, moved in shortly after 4 a.m. Saturday with a band of thunderstorms that dropped more rain on the region than it had seen since spring, according to weather records kept by the National Weather Service.
The National Weather Service reported that 0.27 of an inch of rain had fallen at Pearson Airfield as of about 9 p.m. — the most since 0.36 of an inch of rain fell on May 11 — with most of it in a 30-minute window at about 4:20 a.m.
Other rain gauges tracked by the National Weather Service showed higher rainfall totals in other parts of Clark County as of about 9 p.m., including 0.37 of an inch in Battle Ground, 0.38 of an inch in Hazel Dell and Ridgefield, and 0.44 of an inch in east Vancouver.
A few hours after the showers passed, gusty winds swept into the area. The highest gust at Pearson Airfield in Vancouver hit 37 mph. The National Weather Service reported peak gusts of 43 mph at Portland International Airport, besting a record high gust for August of 39 mph in 1953. Gusts on the coast reached as high as 85 mph at Naselle Ridge on the southern Washington Coast and 90 mph in Oceanside, Ore.
“This was the kind of storm we haven’t seen in 30 years,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Colby Neuman in Portland. “Even if it was in September, it wouldn’t have been normal, but for August, this is just really, really unusual.”
Trees, stressed by hot, dry months, still carried a full set of leaves, making them more vulnerable to high winds. There were reports of downed trees throughout the region, including trees that temporarily blocked Interstate 5 north of Vancouver.
The winds cut power to 2,100 customers of Clark Public Utilities, mostly in the Ridgefield area. In Oregon, Portland General Electric reported that more than 20,000 customers had lost power. To the north, nearly 500,000 customers in the Puget Sound area were without power.
The storm was blamed for two deaths in the Puget Sound area. One man was killed when a tree fell on a car in Gig Harbor, the Seattle Times reported. A passenger in the vehicle was not hurt. Also, a 10-year-old girl was killed outside her friend’s Burien apartment after a sleepover when a tree branch was blown off and hit her, KIRO-TV reported.
The National Weather Service lifted a wind advisory for Southwest Washington as conditions improved Saturday. Winds were expected to be from the southwest at up to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 28 mph, easing overnight.
Evening showers added to the morning’s rainfall total, and more showers were expected as another frontal system arrived late Saturday into Sunday, with possible accumulations of up to three-quarters of an inch forecast by Sunday morning.
Forecasts for the week predict a chance of showers through Friday night, with rain likely on Tuesday. Temperatures will also be notably cooler, with lows in the mid-50s and highs in the upper 60s to lower 70s.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
