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Nearly 600,000 people in Washington state are losing power
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Nearly 600,000 people in Washington state are losing power

A powerful winter storm brought damaging winds and heavy rain to the Pacific Northwest, knocking out power to hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses in Washington.

The storm, known as a “bomb cyclone,” brought winds of up to 55 miles per hour at Sea-Tac Airport and up to 75 miles per hour at Mount Rainier National Park on Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service in Seattle.

The National Weather Service’s forecast early Wednesday morning says that while this system has already caused “numerous power outages” and reports of tree damage, snowstorms are still expected to develop in the Cascades.

The NWS office in Seattle says thunderstorms are possible along the coast on Wednesday, with the next front arriving on Friday and the unsettled weather could last through the weekend and early next week.

Washington power outage map

About 597,000 power outages had been reported in Washington state as of 7:31 a.m. ET, according to a USA TODAY power outage tracker.

According to the outage tracker, more than 465,000 outages have been reported in King County, more than 75,000 in Snohomish County and more than 21,000 in Kitsap County.

Gabe Hauari is a national trending news reporter at USA TODAY. You can follow him on X @GabeHauari or email him at [email protected].