Wednesday morning’s rain showers and thunderstorms veered closer to coastal areas and coastal waters and brought multiple power outages to areas around the Puget Sound.
A fun Thunderstorm passing over Tacoma. The tide flats really got the brunt of it. Lightning sure was impressive for the PNW!#wawx @KSeattleWeather @NWSSeattle pic.twitter.com/cVuwD4clwa
— SciTechJohn 🔭 (@SciTechJohn) August 10, 2022
According to Tacoma Public Utilities, no outages were reported Wednesday night after the utility peaked at 10,000 customers earlier in the day. The heaviest-hit appeared to be areas east and north of Tacoma.
Puget Sound Energy was down to 313 customers being impacted at 9:57 p.m. after also peaking near 10,000 earlier in the day.
Multi and single-cell thunderstorms remained mostly offshore while scattered storms east of Chehalis were reported but not nearly as significant as what was happening at the coast.
These storms moved and will continue to move fast making precipitation very light. From 5 a.m. to 7 a.m. today, the “updated” total was only 0.01%.
WOW!!! Such a powerful thunderstorm, with frequent lightning and loud thunder, that rolled through the Des Moines area this morning on 8/10/22.
— David Rosen (@DavidRosen_WX) August 10, 2022
Photo © 2022 David Rosen/SlickPix Photography pic.twitter.com/TyB9zmruKy
A second wave of storms and scattered showers is anticipated this afternoon with similar precipitation totals expected. Storms tracks will continue to favor areas under the Red Flag Warning (western Olympics and the northern Cascades).
A Red Flag Warning means the listed areas are vulnerable to new fire development (dry storms over dry fire fuel). It also means that should a fire break out due to a lightning strike, a thunderstorms outflow winds could pose a risk for hours following the outbreak to the fire’s development.
Currently, models suggest that lightning intensity today is “low” but that could change or be a conservative estimate.
Heads up along I-5 between Olympia and Tacoma! Heavy rain and frequent lightning is ongoing with this storm. If you’re out and about, give yourself space to slow down on wet surfaces and stay safe while lightning is in the vicinity. #wawx pic.twitter.com/uL9AURijX0
— NWS Seattle (@NWSSeattle) August 10, 2022
Stormy weather aside, increased onshore flow is making the marine layer stick a little longer today. It is also keeping temperatures cool through tomorrow. Partly to mostly cloudy skies can be expected for the remainder of Wednesday with temperatures averaging-high 60s and the low 70s.
On Thursday and Friday, mid-level clouds will hang around for most of the morning and afternoon but with the atmosphere recalibrating itself “back to normal,” temps on Thursday and Friday will return to the low 80s with increased sunshine on both days.
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