Powerful winds hammer Whidbey Island, with gusts topping 50 mph

COUPEVILLE, Wash. --The deafening wind made it hard to get around both on foot and on wheels in Island County.

“My SUV, the wind pushes it in the road, it makes me kind of nervous,” one Coupeville resident said.

Giant ferries also struggled to ride the roller-coaster waves on Monday as wind gusts topped 50 mph in Coupeville.

“So nervous about going on this ferry; we see the whitecaps in the water,” passenger Jolie Cox said.

Passengers waiting for the ferry from Coupeville to Port Townsend were warned the ferry could be canceled at any moment.

But Greenback resident Wayne Flaaten is worried more about Tuesday than Monday.

“We’ve got our generators ready,” Flaaten said.

He also has a pile of wood on standby in case his Island County home loses power.

Flaaten is a certified spotter for the National Weather Service who calls in weather anomalies.

“We had 90 mile per hour winds,” he said.

That was several years ago and Flaaten is hoping Tuesday’s punch of wind isn't anything close to that.

“I would say be aware, take care and be prepared,” Flaaten said.

Good advice because winds will pick up in many parts of Western Washington.

Places along the coast, portions of Clallam County, West Jefferson County and Island County could experience winds gusts of 60 mph on Tuesday.