Both reported deaths occurred in the Seattle area as trees fell during the height of the storm. A woman in her 50s was killed when a tree struck a homeless encampment in Lynnwood at about 7 p.m. Pacific time on Tuesday, according to South County Fire. Around the same time, a tree crashed into a house in Bellevue’s Bridle Trails neighborhood, killing a woman inside. The person who called emergency services was moved to safety once conditions near the home allowed a response.
Western Washington experienced extensive tree and power-line damage. Fire agencies warned residents to stay indoors, move to lower floors where possible and keep away from windows. Images broadcast from the area showed vehicles damaged by falling trees. One tree hit a public bus, but the driver escaped injury and no passengers were aboard.
The storm’s rapid fall in atmospheric pressure was the basis for the “bomb cyclone” description. Some measured winds reached hurricane strength, according to the supplied reporting. The force of the system also damaged the National Weather Service facility in Seattle, underscoring the severity of conditions faced by emergency responders and forecasters.
Power failures affected more than 700,000 customers in Washington at their peak. By late Wednesday afternoon, service had been restored to many, but more than 300,000 customers in the state were still without electricity. The outages were expected to take time to repair because crews faced numerous fallen trees, blocked routes and damaged lines rather than a single point of failure.
Travel conditions deteriorated beyond the Puget Sound area. Snow, freezing rain and blizzard conditions affected eastern Washington, prompting warnings about hazardous journeys. Interstate 5 southbound was closed in southern Oregon toward the California border because of blizzard conditions, according to the Oregon Department of Transportation.
The event was part of back-to-back storms affecting the Pacific Northwest. Forecast coverage warned that an atmospheric river could combine with the unusually intense cyclone, raising the prospect of further rain and disruption after the initial wind damage. British Columbia was also hit by the same broad system.
The immediate priorities were restoring electricity, clearing roads and keeping residents away from unstable trees and live wires. With extensive damage spread across multiple communities, authorities stressed avoiding unnecessary travel while emergency and utility crews worked through the aftermath.
