Heavy rain causes flooding, power outages

SEATTLE - It was a mess all across Western Washington as heavy rain plummeted the region Saturday.

Nearly three inches of rain fell in Olympia while several trees were no match for high winds in West Seattle.

“I was thinking do we call all of our friends with chain saws,” said West Seattle Resident Lori Mason.

The non-stop rain turned many roads into rivers bringing traffic to a crawl on highways and everywhere in between.

“Everyone is driving slower and that is good,” said driver Michael Trepp.

From Everett to Kent down to Tacoma, the blanket of rain either shut down streets or had drivers taking chances.

In other areas the slippery surface was downright dangerous.

“It’s like being in ferry line waiting for the ferry,” said Trepp.



A car spun out of control on Highway 99, paralyzing traffic heading into Seattle for more than an hour.

In Seattle's Wedgwood neighborhood, a tow truck had to help a driver who lost control and slid into a ditch.

Power outages left thousands of people in Seattle in the dark.

“We’ve been using candles lots of talking been doing a lot of eye contact,” said Queen Anne Resident Joanne Keenan.

After a little bit too much quiet in their home, Keenan and her family went searching for a place with electricity.

“We are trying to find a restaurant that is warm and hoping to eat dinner,” said Keenan.

As of 9:12 p.m. Saturday night Seattle City Light had 2,000 customers without power out of the more than 19,000 who were affected.

Crews all across Western Washington are keeping a close eye on the sewer systems so they don’t overflow into area waterways, something that happened in the last big storm.