Pinpoint Alert Day: Strong wind, heavy rain to start Monday

SEATTLE — High Wind Warnings for the coast and northern interior, including western Whatcom and Skagit Counties, Island and San Juan counties and the Port Townsend area for winds gusting over 50 mph from before daybreak Monday through early Monday afternoon.

There is a Wind Advisory Monday morning into early Monday afternoon for many other areas around Puget Sound for winds that could gust over 40 mph. This includes Pierce and Thurston Counties and points south.

The Wind Advisory does not include the immediate Seattle metro area and western King County, nor most of Kitsap County as the strong winds might be knocked down a bit by the Olympic Mountains being upwind. It will still be quite breezy through Monday morning and into Monday afternoon.

With a potent front moving through to start the work week, a burst of wind and rain will impact Western Washington, starting at the coast well before daybreak and moving inland through the morning. Gusty winds could be enough to cause some sporadic power outages and tree damage, and leaf-clogged storm drains could back up and cause urban flooding of roadways and intersections for a time through Monday morning into early Monday afternoon. The short duration of the heavy rain could limit flooding impacts, however.

In the Cascades, Winter Storm Warnings and Winter Weather Advisories have been hoisted for more than a foot of snow above about 4,000 feet in elevation (excludes Snoqualmie Pass) from Monday morning through Monday night. The heaviest totals of 18 inches or more could fall around Mount Baker. Stevens Pass could get 3-8 inches of snow while Snoqualmie Pass should receive mainly rain or a rain-snow mix.

By later Monday afternoon, the rain will have tapered to scattered showers with a chance for an isolated thunderstorm and the winds will have subsided from their peak, though it will still be breezy into Monday evening. Tuesday will be drier and the start of several calm weather days in Western Washington.

Still, there will be challenges to drivers so make sure to watch KIRO 7 News starting at 4:30 a.m. Monday and download the KIRO 7 Mobile Pinpoint Weather App for warnings and the latest Stormtracker radar.

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