NWS leaning toward 'worst case scenario' for Saturday

SEATTLE -- The National Weather Service in Seattle now has a higher confidence that Saturday’s storm will be the “worst-case scenario.”

On Wednesday, the agency gave a 1 in 3 chance for a historic storm in Western Washington as the remnants of Typhoon Songda is expected to hit the state. On Thursday, the NWS increased that chance to 50/50.





The NWS said the exact track of the low will make a huge difference in how badly the storm will impact the region.

If the low directly crosses some part of the coast, the agency warns that it could lead to a historical windstorm for nearly all of Western Washington Saturday night. If the low passed further offshore, most of the damaging winds would be north of Everett.



Saturday's storm comes on the tail-end of a "typical winter storm."

Read more on that storm, here.

The National Weather Service says winds will increase Thursday afternoon and evening across Western Washington. The greatest likelihood for strong and damaging winds is from 4-7 p.m. on the coast and 7-10 p.m. in the interior areas north of Everett. Residents in Seattle should expect to see the strongest winds after midnight.



The heaviest rain will start at about 4 p.m. Thursday, which is likely to bring standing water on the roads. The mountains will get over 4 inches of rain, and that will make area rivers run high and fast. The Skokomish should flood by Friday morning.

The winds will be strongest at the coastal beaches, with gusts over 60 mph, Kelley says. The Seattle metro area will get gusts of about 40 mph from 9 p.m. Thursday to 6 a.m. Friday.


    We saw our first power outage in Bellingham where about 3,000 customers lost power early Thursday. The Bellingham airport had 20 mph sustained winds with gusts near 40 mph.

    Around 7 a.m., about 4,700 customers in the Olympia/Lacey area lost power, according to Puget Sound Energy.

    Remember to be prepared, not scared and have an emergency kit ready in the event of a power outage.