SEATTLE — Stormy weather has blown out of Washington, leaving tens of thousands of residents without power.
The effects of a wet week lingered, with the possibility of debris flows and risk of landslides continuing Friday in Western Washington, the National Weather Service said. One mudslide hit railroad tracks near Edmonds.
Wind gusts knocked trees onto power lines, at one point leaving more than 170,000 utility customers in the dark.
Winds reached 49 mph Thursday night at Sea-Tac Airport, 62 mph at Paine Field in Everett and 69 mph at the Whidbey Island Naval Air Station.
As of 9 a.m., Snohomish County PUD reported that 13,000 power outages remained, including areas of Paine Field, south Everett, Tulalip and Marysville, after 50,000 or more lost power Thursday night.
Puget Sound Energy said outages peaked about 1 a.m. Friday at 105,000. Crews worked through the night to restore power. About 45,000 outages remained by 8 a.m.
Tacoma Public Utilities reported about 100 remaining, and Seattle City Light responded to about 2,400 outages.
A mudslide hit the BNSF Railway tracks at 12:30 a.m. Friday near Edmonds. The tracks were cleared and freight trains resumed running at 3 a.m., spokesman Gus Melonas said.
But a 48-hour safety moratorium will prevent passenger trains from rolling between Seattle and Everett this weekend. Buses will bridge the service.
Amtrak says passenger service between Seattle and Everett will resume Sunday. Sound Transit says Sounder commuter train service will resume Monday, if no other events occur.
In Olympia, a neighborhood near the Capitol lacked power after the storm downed trees and power lines.
A falling tree hit a propane tank and started a fire at the Red Wind Casino near Olympia.
Firefighters kept the tank from exploding, and there was minimal damage to the casino.
Pounding waves on the Washington coast have taken huge chunks of land at the aptly named Washaway Beach near Grayland. A house that succumbed to surf Wednesday was the third one this week.
Winds also brought down scaffolding at six-story apartment building under construction in Redmond.
Forecasters expect a calmer weekend with some sunshine and a return next week to occasional rain showers and mountain snow across the state.
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