Thousands lose power in Pacific Northwest wind storm

SEATTLE (AP) — Thousands of people in Western Washington and some in Oregon were without power as high winds blew into the region Tuesday.

More than 100,000 customers of Puget Sound Energy, Seattle City Light and Snohomish County Public Utility District had their power go out as of Tuesday afternoon, according to outage maps on the utilities’ websites.

The National Weather Service has issued a wind advisory for much of Tuesday around Puget Sound and on the Washington coast. Southwest winds this afternoon could reach 30 mph, with gusts of up to 50 mph, according to the National Weather Service.

A 737 pilot reported being hit by lightning as the plane reached 18,000 feet (5,486 meters) near Seattle, KOMO-TV reported. No damage was reported.

The National Weather Service also issued a high wind warning throughout Central and Eastern Washington, in effect between 2 p.m. and 11 p.m. Tuesday, with wind gusts that could top 60 mph. The same high wind warning was also issued in Oregon's Lower Columbia Basin, foothills of the Northern and Southern Blue Mountains and North Central Oregon.

Portland General Electric in Oregon was reporting about 1,000 customers without power Tuesday afternoon. That number had dropped by half later in the day.