Northwest 'bomb cyclone' leaves erratic path of destruction in its wake

SEATTLE — Hours after a massive windstorm howled with gusts up to 74 mph in the lowlands, crews in Western Washington were working Wednesday to restore electricity for over 640,000 customers who lost power overnight.

At least two people have died.

One died when wind toppled a tree at a Lynnwood homeless encampment Tuesday night. And another woman was killed Tuesday evening by a tree that fell on a home in the Bridle Trails area, according to Bellevue fire.

A rotating rapidly intensifying system of storms, known as a bomb cyclone, skirted the West Coast and churned about 300 miles west of the Olympic Peninsula. Its strength appeared to be waning Wednesday, though a sequel system could move in Thursday or Friday, according to the National Weather Service.

Over 400,000 people of those without power were Puget Sound Energy customers, outside the city of Seattle. Heavy snow, fallen trees and — on Interstate 90 near Snoqualmie Pass — a jackknifed semitruck blocked routes in the immediate aftermath of the storm. Some flights at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport were also rerouted when the storm was near its peak.

Seattle-area residents reported widespread cellular service outages for three of the major telecommunications companies — Verizon, T-Mobile and AT&T — according to Downdetector.

A Verizon spokesperson confirmed the windstorm that swept through Western Washington on Tuesday evening into Wednesday morning interrupted service for customers.

"Verizon crews and vendors deployed as soon as it was safe to do so and will be working around the clock to restore service as quickly as possible," the spokesperson said in an emailed statement.

Five people were treated for storm-related injuries Wednesday at Harborview Medical Center, according to hospital spokesperson Susan Gregg. One person remains in critical condition.

Five people were also treated at the University of Washington Medical Center Northwest and another three at the hospital’s Montlake building, all of whom are in satisfactory condition.

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(Seattle Times writers Alex Halverson and Vonnai Phair contributed.)