MONROE — A man died when a tree fell on his car while he was driving near Monroe on Tuesday as high winds and heavy rain battered the region, knocking out power to more than 100,000 customers in Snohomish and Island counties.
The accident happened around 1:10 p.m. in the 28800 block of Ben Howard Road, Sultan Fire Chief Merlin Halverson said.
Trees also fell on two houses in Everett during the storm without causing any injuries. And trees were falling in Arlington and Marysville area. A wind gust of 58 mph was recorded at Paine Field in the early afternoon.
Snohomish County sheriff’s deputies had trouble reaching the crash scene near Monroe because of all the downed trees and power lines, sheriff’s spokeswoman Shari Ireton said. The driver, a man in his 20s, died at the scene, she said. No one else was in the vehicle.
East Snohomish County was particularly hard hit by the storm. Water was being spilled over Culmback Dam, north of Gold Bar, but the dam was not in danger of failing, according to the Snohomish County Public Utility District.
“Lots of trees down, a lot of power out,” said Gold Bar Fire Chief Eric Andrews.
Thousands of houses and businesses lost power early in the the day as PUD crews rushed to restore electricity. Then a second wave of high wind hit, and by evening the PUD reported 111,000 customers without power.
Power outages occurred between Lynnwood and Everett, in eastern parts of the county including Snohomish and Gold Bar, and in the Tulalip area, said Neil Neroutsos, a spokesman for the utility. Contract utility crews are out helping the district’s regular crews.
Rising rivers
The Skykomish River reached major flood stage by mid-afternoon. The South Fork Stillaguamish River also was in major flood stage with water surrounding some homes along Jordan Road between Granite Falls and Arlington. The Snohomish River was also on the rise, county emergency management director John Pennington said.
Tuesday evening the National Weather Service issued a flood warning for the Snohomish River in Snohomish and Monroe until late Wednesday night. “The Snohomish River will cause major flooding, inundating farm land, roads and some residential areas,” the weather service said. “Levees will likely suffer damage. Flooding will occur all along the river, including headwaters, tributaries and other streams within and near the Snohomish River Basin.”
Waters were predicted to crest around 4 a.m. Wednesday at Monroe and 10 a.m. at Snohomish.
County workers were doing door-to-door notifications to warn people in some areas, including Index.
Pennington urged people to avoid crossing roads submerged in water. Anyone living in flood-prone areas should prepare for inundation of driveways and basements and heed warnings from official sources.
As night fell, emergency workers were asking people to be extraordinarily cautious, Pennington said.
“Everyone is just sitting tight, watching the flood gauges,” said sheriff’s office spokeswoman Ireton.
The county was contemplating sending out “reverse 911” calls in flood-prone areas to warn homeowners.
“It is one of the options we have at our disposal,” Ireton said.
Ireton said she hopes people use common sense. “During an event like this, if you don’t have to go out, don’t,” she said.
In Arlington, city officials were bracing for the worst late Tuesday. The National Weather Service elevated its prediction for flood severity on the Stillaguamish River from “moderate” to “major.”
“We have lost power to a number of locations around town, including the Airport Office and Fire Station 47,” said Kristin Banfield, a city spokeswoman. “We are hearing of a few locations in town with downed trees and power lines, so we’re starting to tackle those.”
The river was rising, causing the city to close three lowland parks as a precaution.
“We are also asking folks to check local storm drains and clear them if it is needed and they are able,” Banfield said.
Downed trees were reported in Marysville, as well.
Those without power or that see downed lines are encouraged to report those to Snohomish County PUD at 425-783-1001.
High winds continued in Snohomish County into Tuesday evening, with rain-saturated ground creating a continuing risk of downed trees and power lines.
Steve Reedy, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Seattle, said winds would diminish in the evening.
The weather service measured 0.65 inches of rain in Everett in the 24 hours ending Tuesday afternoon. That was less than at some other locations. At Sea-Tac Airport, 1.2 inches was recorded.
Numerous accidents
The Washington State Patrol reported 15 crashes between 7 and 11 a.m. Tuesday, and things only got worse as the sun set.
“It’s getting really bad right now,” trooper Mark Francis said Tuesday evening. The patrol received dozens of calls about fallen trees. “We are still prioritizing calls right now, there are so many trees coming down,” Francis said.
Late Tuesday afternoon, a driver reported part of a tree fell on a van while his vehicle was heading south on Highway 9 near 108th Street near Marysville. The tree narrowly missed hitting him and a passenger.
“Another few inches, different outcome,” Francis said. Francis said drivers need to remember to slow down during conditions like those of Tuesday’s storm.
Road closures persisted into the night.
U.S. 2 was closed in places between Gold Bar and Skykomish because of fallen trees and water over the road, said Travis Phelps, a spokesman for the Washington State Department of Transportation. Crews were likely to wait until daylight on Wednesday to remove trees.
Southbound Highway 529 in Marysville, near I-5, also was closed for a time because of downed power lines.
Sound Transit commuter trains from Seattle to Everett were delayed or canceled Tuesday evening because of downed trees and high water over the tracks.
And Washington State Ferries said high winds prompted the cancellation of boats on the Edmonds-Kingston run.
The Mountain Loop Highway was closed in the Robe Valley by a tree that fell across the road. The Granite Falls School District was operating on limited bus routes Tuesday afternoon.
Calmer on Wednesday
Winds on Wednesday were expected to be 10 to 15 mph, with a chance of showers.
The freezing level in the mountains was at 7,000 to 7,500 feet Tuesday but was expected to drop fast as the storm front moved through, said Reedy of the weather service. By Tuesday night, the freezing level was expected to hit about 3,000 feet.
Noah Haglund: 425-339-3465, nhaglund@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @NWhaglund. Kari Bray and Dan Catchpole contributed.
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