SEATTLE — A strong Pacific storm system that triggered mud flows in wildfire-scarred areas of California also slammed the coasts of Washington state and Oregon Sunday, threatening coastal flooding and causing power outages affecting thousands of customers in the Pacific Northwest.
Wind gusts topping 60 mph downed trees on Interstate 90 east of Seattle and cut power to at least 49,000 customers in the metro area and around Puget Sound, KOMO-TV reported. In Oregon, more than 20,000 customers lost power in areas running from Portland south to Salem, according to The Oregonian.
More power outages are possible through Monday, Samantha Borth, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Seattle, told The Seattle Times.
Forecasters issued severe thunderstorm warnings with damaging winds and hail possible for the Oregon coast and Portland area as well as northwestern Washington.
