Yellow Pages
Skagit County residents were picking up the pieces Tuesday after freakish winds and a torrential downpour lashed the area.
And freakish things happened, like a trampoline that was picked up and hurled like a giant Frisbee about 200 feet in a Bow neighborhood. A little higher up, there was even snow.
Instead of June, it seemed more like “June-uary” to many experiencing the weird, winter-like weather in Washington.
“Monday’s high winds were unusual,” said Danny Mercer, meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Seattle. “Those winds usually occur in October, November and December.”
Heavy gusts blew trees and tree limbs into electric lines around the county.
The Mount Vernon Fire Department responded to reports of tree branches smoking on power lines, said spokeswoman Erica Work.
Residents north of Sedro-Woolley lost power for about a half-hour after a tree knocked down power lines, said Fire District 8 Chief Rusty Feay, whose crews responded.
The Skagit Regional Airport recorded gusting winds throughout Monday afternoon, reaching about 30 mph at 5:30 p.m.
The Washington State Department of Transportation Web site warned of snow through Tuesday night for Washington and Rainy passes along the North Cascade Highway.
Recent temperatures reached record lows, said Mercer. Seattle-Tacoma International Airport recorded an overnight low of 44 degrees, which tied the record set in 1971.
“I just talked to a park ranger who has never seen weather like this in 22 years,” he said.
Mercer said that the rest of the week will be a little warmer, “however, the temperature will struggle to reach the average.”
Bow residents may have seen remnants of a strange windstorm that some residents said left a swath of damage similar to tornadoes. Cottonwood trees along Bow Hill Road just east of Worline Road began twisting violently, blowing leaves and branches into the roadway, and onto power lines.
Area residents may have found other things moved by the wind.
“I heard about a trampoline that traveled over 200 feet in the wind, said Fire District 14 Chief Dan Costanti. “There was definitely a squall that came through.”
Although no tornadoes were reported to the National Weather Service, Mercer said they can occur in Washington.
“We had a report of a funnel cloud in Enumclaw last week,” he said.
