Winter storm drops snow at Hurricane Ridge, prompts campgrounds’ closure

SEATTLE — Winter weather brought high winds and snow to parts of the Pacific Northwest, knocking out power in some areas and dumping fresh snow at Hurricane Ridge.

Snowfall plumped the snowpack at the Ridge to 20 inches, according to snoflo.org on Sunday, but rain is forecast, which could melt some of that.

The Hurricane Ridge Winter Sports Club, which operates the Hurricane Ridge Ski, Snowboard and Tubing area, has said it needs 3 feet of snowpack to open the ski area.

ADVERTISEMENT
0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:00
00:00
 

The high winds prompted Olympic National Park to close several coastal campgrounds, without specifying which campgrounds it closed. The park warned that wind storms can whip up life-threatening waves on the coast and cause trees to fall and block roads.

Thousands of households were without power Saturday morning in the greater Seattle area after a night of rain and wind, The Seattle Times reported.

Seattle City Light reported 17 outages affecting more than 1,700 customers as of late morning, roughly two-thirds of them in South Seattle, according to the utility’s outage map. The utility said it was investigating the cause.

Smaller outages, some caused by fallen trees, were affecting other neighborhoods throughout Seattle, according to The Seattle Times.

Communities across the region were affected. Puget Sound Energy reported 79 outages impacting more than 4,700 customers as of about 11:30 a.m. The outages stretched from Kitsap County to as far south as Olympia, the news outlet reported.

In Oregon, more than 2,000 customers in the Portland area also lost power, outage maps from Portland General Electric and Pacific Power showed.

The power cuts came as high winds swept across the region, reaching 52 mph at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, according to the National Weather Service’s office in Seattle.

The storms also brought snow to the Cascades. As of Friday afternoon, Paradise in Mount Rainier National Park had received 14 inches of snow over 24 hours, according to preliminary reports from the National Weather Service.

In the Oregon Cascades, the Mount Bachelor ski resort near Bend hosted its opening day Saturday after receiving roughly a foot of snow in the previous 24 hours. Timberline on Mount Hood reported similar snowfall over the same time period and had expected to open its chair lifts but had to postpone until Sunday because of high winds, the resort said in an Instagram post.

Mount Bachelor said it was also experiencing high winds.

Officials in Washington and Oregon have warned drivers to be cautious while driving in the windy and snowy conditions, use tire chains if needed and have supplies in their vehicles, such as water and blankets, in case of traffic delays.

_______

Peninsula Daily News added local information to this story from The Associated Press.

More in News

A pair of wind surfers take off from the breakwater at Port Townsend Marina in an apparent race across the bay on Tuesday. (Steve Mullensky/for Peninsula Daily News)
Catching the wind

A pair of wind surfers take off from the breakwater at Port… Continue reading

Clallam County Economic Development Council Director of Operations Lorie Fazio, left, and Executive Director Colleen McAleer stand with Michael Cade, executive director of Thurston EDC who presented the WEDA’s 2025 Innovation in Economic Development award. The EDC received the award last month in recognition of its Clallam Forest Product Innovation Program.
Clallam EDC wins state innovation award

Forest innovation program intended to revitalize industry

Port Townsend library to show Willa Cather documentary

Free novels, dramatic reading Thursday at 5:30

Jefferson sets short-term rental rules

County establishes 4 percent cap, one rental per operator

When former deputy and pilot John L. Strachan told his wife Jennie that his final wish was for his ashes to be sent into space, she wondered if he was kidding. After all, could such a thing even be done? Turns out, it can — and Jennie is making it happen. (Jennie Strachan)
When former deputy and pilot John L. Strachan told his wife Jennie that his final wish was for his ashes to be sent into space, she wondered if he was kidding. After all, could such a thing even be done? Turns out, it can — and Jennie is making it happen. (Jennie Strachan)
Former deputy’s ashes to be sent into space

Widow of John Strachan to fulfill his dream

Port OKs Citizen Air lease

Company purchasing Rite Bros. Aviation

Rebates offered for e-bikes through April 23

The state Department of Transportation will accept applications for e-bike… Continue reading

Jefferson County Public Health names heroes

Jefferson County Public Health has announced its 2025 Public… Continue reading

Man transported to hospital after log truck goes into ditch

A log truck driver was transported to Forks Community Hospital… Continue reading

Heath Wade, 5, leads the goat parade to open the 37th annual Port Townsend Farmers Market on Saturday in the uptown neighborhood. Behind are goat wranglers Lindsey Kotzebue and Amber Langley of Port Townsend. (Steve Mullensky/for Peninsula Daily News)
Market opens

Heath Wade, 5, leads the goat parade to open the 37th annual… Continue reading

Kelly Kidwell, a local business owner and property developer, is purchasing Rite Bros. with the intention of building a long-term sustainable business that will expand aviation access in the area. Citizen Air, based at William R. Fairchild International Airport, will offer charter flights and fractional aircraft ownership. The possibility of scheduled flights could be in the distant future. Kidwell is shown with his Poodle-Bernese mountain dog, Porter. (Paula Hunt/Peninsula Daily News)
Citizen Air aims to expand access

New Rite Bros. owner planning for growth

Health officer: Disease numbers low, but cuts affecting programs

Additional measles case located in Washington state