EVERETT — The National Weather Service issued a severe thunderstorm watch Wednesday afternoon for seven counties in Washington state.
Snohomish County and Everett are not included.
Residents should not breathe a sigh of relief just yet, said weather service meteorologist Steve Reedy on Wednesday afternoon.
“They’re not completely out of the woods yet,” Reedy said.
Severe thunderstorms are on track to roll through several cities in the Puget Sound region on Wednesday. Shortly after 3 p.m., the weather service issued the watch for Clark, Lewis, Thurston, Cowlitz, Pierce, King and Skamania counties until 9 p.m. Wednesday.
Thunderstorms could include hail up to 1 inch or more in diameter for places in the Puget Sound region. Other cities to the south could see hail as big as 2 inches. If that wasn’t enough, the storm brings the potential for heavy rain, frequent lightning and wind gusts as high as 60 mph.
One more thing. A small chance exists that Everett and other cities to the south in the Puget Sound could see a tornado.
Wednesday’s storms, including the small potential for a tornado, are an extremely rare weather event for western Washington, Felton said. The last reported tornado was 2018 in Port Orchard. One hit Bremerton in the 1990s, and before that, a tornado damaged the Boeing plant in Renton in 1969.
“This is possibly the biggest threat we’ve had,” meteorologist Dana Felton said earlier Wednesday.
This is in stark contrast to the springlike weather on Tuesday. That day proved to be a much-needed respite from winter blahs, with the high unofficially reaching 67 in Everett.
As of 11 a.m. Wednesday, lightning strikes were reported along the Kitsap Peninsula. Everett showed 51 degrees before noon, with a high of 68 predicted for Wednesday.
“The more we warm up today, the more fuel the thunderstorms will have later this afternoon into this evening,” according to the latest forecast discussion from the weather service.
Weather models suggest these storms could become organized into one ragged long line of thunderstorms, instead of hit-or-miss storms.
As for timing, the brunt of the storms are expected to arrive in Seattle by 6 p.m. Wednesday.
“I wouldn’t be outside this evening,” Felton said.
The weather service suggests people should monitor the latest forecasts from a trusted weather source.
Thunderstorms are possible Thursday as well but less frequent. Sunday could bring another respite before active weather returns early next week.
This is a developing story. Check back for further details.
Michael Henneke: 425-339-3431; michael.henneke@heraldnet.com; X: @ihenpecked.
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