EVERETT — A strong windstorm swept into the Pacific Northwest on Sunday, knocking down trees all across the region and cutting power to thousands.

The heavy winds hit about 2 p.m., blowing down trees and power lines.

A man in Seattle was killed when a tree fell onto his car in Seward Park, the Seattle Fire Department reported. A toddler in the car sustained minor injuries and she was transported to Harborview Medical Center.

About 40,000 utility customers in Snohomish County lost power in the afternoon, Public Utility District spokesman Neil Neroutsos said.

More than 50 PUD crews have been deployed to restore power to the affected areas.

The PUD updated its online outage map, http://outagemap.snopud.com, throughout the day.

The outages were scattered, with significant concentrations in the southern parts of the county, Lake Stevens and the Stanwood-Camano Island area.

Numerous roads were closed throughout the county because of downed trees and power lines, including on southbound I-5 near the Everett Mall and later on southbound I-405 at Damson Road, where fallen trees blocked all but one lane on both interstates. All lanes of both interstates were reopened by 7:20 p.m.

The National Weather Service forecast sustained winds of up to 40 mph throughout the day, and gusts of at least 60 mph were recorded at Paine Field in Everett and Whidbey Island Naval Air Station.

The winds were expected to die down later in the evening, but a high wind advisory remained in effect until 11 p.m.

With the wind came a lot of rain, and one section of the bluff overlooking the coast four miles south of Mukilteo collapsed into the right-of-way of the BNSF Railway below.

BNSF Railway spokesman Gus Melonas said four freight trains were halted by the mudslide.

A second slide later came down on top of the first one, resulting in a debris field about three feet high and 25 feet wide.

Neither slide covered the tracks, and the freight trains started running again by 4 p.m.

For safety reasons, BNSF suspended all passenger rail service between Everett and Seattle for 48 hours, effective at 1:55 p.m.

“We’ll assess it further over the next two days,” Melonas said.

People are advised to avoid downed power lines. Drivers should treat intersections with nonworking traffic signals as four-way stops.

Chris Winters: 425-374-4165; cwinters@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @Chris_At_Herald. The Associated Press contributed to this report.​