Three People Killed By Falling Trees In Severe Washington Storm

According to the guardian; At least three people have died and hundreds of thousands were without power on Tuesday as a severe storm packing high winds unleashed across the north-west.

Police said a woman in her 50s was killed when a tree toppled taking down power lines as it fell in Spokane on Tuesday afternoon. Fire crews were unable to resuscitate the woman.
Another woman died after a tree fell on her car on Highway 904 about 15 miles south-west of Spokane, according to the Washington state patrol.
A man in his mid-20s was killed when a tree crushed his car as he was driving near Sultan in Snohomish County. The tree landed on the car’s roof directly over the driver’s seat, killing him instantly, said fire chief Merlin Halverson.
Their identities were not immediately released.

Puget Sound Energy reported nearly 178,000 customers without power in its western Washington region Tuesday night as trees toppled onto roadways and power lines.
Ferry trips were delayed or canceled in several areas and Sound Transit trains were delayed due to trees and water on the tracks throughout the system.
Energy company Avista Corp said more than 136,000 customers had lost power as of Tuesday night around Spokane and in Northern Idaho. Flights into and out of Spokane International Airport were canceled or delayed Tuesday evening.

In Oregon, thousands were without power in the greater Portland area and a flood watch was issued for the northern Oregon coast through Wednesday. State officials said heavy rain caused Portland’s sewer system to overflow into the Willamette river and residents were urged to avoid contact with the river through Thursday evening.

Around the country Tuesday, a powerful storm dumped heavy snow on parts of Colorado while bringing the threat of tornadoes to millions in central and southern states. Much of Interstate 70, Colorado’s main east-west highway, was closed because of blizzard conditions on the state’s eastern plains as well as in north-west Kansas, where up to 15 inches of snow and heavy winds are in the forecast.
Early Tuesday, two weak tornadoes touched down in the northern suburbs of the Dallas-Fort Worth area, according to the National Weather Service. No one was injured.
The storm that originated in the Gulf of Alaska could be a harbinger of El Niño, the ocean-warming phenomenon that’s predicted to bring heavy rain to the west in the coming months, said Kathy Hoxsie of the National Weather Service.