Sustained winds from 20-35 mph with repeated gusts of up to 63 mph whipped through the South Beach starting at approximately 8 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 29.
As predicted by the National Weather Service in Seattle, the height of the storm hit the local area between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. with high winds still evident until approximately 8 p.m.
The wind blew outdoor furniture around and sent objects with flat edges flying like Frisbees. At approximately 9 a.m., a large tree fell onto a deck and residence in the 500 block of W. Spokane Avenue in uptown Westport. It was the first of dozens that would fall in the area before the storm abated.
No local injuries were reported.
Power out
At 9:25 a.m., a tree on the east side of SR105 near milepost 45 two miles out of Aberdeen snapped, catching the high transmission line, as well as all lines below it. All power was immediately cut from the Harding Road PUD substation just inside Aberdeen City limits all the way to Tokeland.
More than 5,000 PUD customers between Aberdeen and Tokeland were without power for more than 14 hours while crews worked to restore service, which returned at 11:50 p.m.
The outage was much longer for those with additional downed line problems in the Grayland, North Cove and Tokeland areas.
Bleachers enclosure roof
Just ten days after an engineering firm reported to the Ocosta School District that the Jr/Sr high school bleachers enclosure is not safe for occupancy in high wind events, Saturday’s storm peeled back layers of the roofing material on that structure.
Elsewhere on the school campus, a short fencing section around power equipment near the school administration office blew down during the storm and white cartons from the new school construction site danced across parking lots and lawns of the school’s front campus.
In the Marina District, aluminum roofing sheets from the Westport Seafood Exchange property blew across Neddie Rose Drive and onto the revetment rocks, with one sheet wrapping around a nearby power pole, as well.
Edge of the storm
Despite the severity of the windstorm on the South Beach, the brunt of the big blow hit the northern areas of the state with greater severity. Thousands of customers north of Seattle and into the San Juan Islands lost power for more than two full days.