Wind Advisory Through Thursday | Sunny, Cold and Gusts of 45MPH Possible

UPDATE |  Wednesday, November 12, 2014, 8:45AM

The National Weather Service has let the High Wind Warning for the Cascade Foothills (including the North Bend and Snoqualmie areas) expire, but still has a Wind Advisory in place until 11AM, Thursday, November 13th. 

The most damage done by Tuesday’s wind storm appears to be in southeast King County in the Auburn, Maple Valley area where multiple trees and power lines came down.  Puget Sound Energy has called in extra crews to help make needed repairs.

According to the PSE Outage Map, about 85 customers in the North Bend area were without power Wednesday morning.  Residents in the Riverbend area reported outages and a down tree across a road.

Winds were still gusting to near 40MPH Wednesday morning, November 12th, in the Snoqualmie Valley.  Weather forecasters say the breezy/windy conditions should hang around most of the day, possibly easing in the afternoon to evening.

High temperatures will struggle to hit 40 in the Valley. The wind chill factor will have it feeling much colder.

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ORIGINAL STORY |  November 11, 2014, 8AM

Who needs a Wind Advisory when there’s one step higher to achieve in the world of weather warnings?

Tuesday, November 11, 2014, the National Weather Service (NWS) issued a High Wind Warning for King County areas in the Foothills of the Cascade Mountains.  This is step up from the Wind Advisories issued for the Snoqualmie Valley during the past couple storms.

Currently, there is low pressure off-shore, higher pressure and cold air east of the Cascade Mountains, and with easterly winds aloft, air is being sucked through the gaps in the Cascade Mountains, including Snoqualmie Pass. The gusty winds are expected to continue throughout Tuesday afternoon.

So the NWS scrapped that earlier wind advisory and upped it to a high wind warning. Wind gusts in excess of 60MPH are possible, with an east wind blowing 20 – 40MPH, sunshine and cold temperatures.

According to the warning, the strongest winds will be localized near gaps in mountain terrain – i.e. right here. This is the weather scenario that regularly brings strong fall/winter wind events to the North Bend and Snoqualmie areas.

Luckily, many tress have now lost most of their leaves, but the NWS says downed power lines and toppled tress are still possible. Temperatures are only expected to be in the low 40’s. Combined with the wind, it will feel much colder outside.

As of 8:45AM, North Bend Elementary had picked up a gust of 75MPH, with sustained wind speed in the high teens teens. Even though the temperature reads almost 40 degrees, with the wind chill factor it feels more like 30.

The high wind warning expires at 4PM, Tuesday, November 11th.  Stay warm and hopefully the power stays on!

[A high wind warning means that a hazardous wind event is imminent or occurring.]