Two people are dead and others injured as a “bomb cyclone” continued to batter the Pacific Northwest with high winds Wednesday, cutting power to nearly half a million homes and businesses in Washington state amid forecasts calling for more dangerous rain, flooding and snow in the region.
Two women in the Seattle suburbs were killed separately by falling trees, and two other people were injured by falling trees southeast of the city.
The ferocious storm is akin to a winter hurricane, with wind gusts of up to 70 mph, and it brings a slew of dangers.
Besides downing trees and causing widespread power outages, the high winds have blocked roadways and smashed homes.
Following the bomb cyclone, the region faces days of rain, flooding and snow at higher elevations, the National Weather Service said Wednesday. That’s part of an “atmospheric river” that could bring over a foot of rain to some areas.
Strong winds are knocking down trees across Washington, including in Lynnwood, where a woman in her 50s died after a large tree fell on a homeless encampment, South County Fire said Tuesday.