Wind, rain pound most of West Side

SEATTLE – A strong spring storm rocked Western Washington on Friday with high winds, heavy rain and some snow, toppling trees in many areas and temporarily knocking out power to thousands of households.

Gusting winds topped 60 mph in a few locations, with Oak Harbor, Bangor, Kirkland and Everett all recording gusts of 62 mph and Bellingham hitting 61 mph. Winds elsewhere were often in the 44-55 mph range. Several communities near Hood Canal reported some lowland snow; forecasters called for heavy snow in the Cascade Mountains.

KOMO-TV reported that all of the San Juan Islands lost power for a while Friday morning.

Puget Sound Energy crews worked on restoring power to several thousand customers, mainly in Kitsap and Skagit counties.

By late Friday afternoon, Seattle City Light crews had restored power to 3,700 homes and businesses in Burien and unincorporated King County. Earlier in the day, City Light crews restored service to about 2,900 customers in Lake Forest Park.

Longview could have used more wind. The Washington state Department of Ecology says it determined that cloud cover was keeping Longview Fibre mill emissions from dissipating, prompting complaint calls about a strong odor Friday morning.