Powerful windstorm sweeps across Western Washington leaving 1 dead, 35,000 without power

Around 35,000 households across Western Washington remain without power as of Thursday morning, after a strong wind and rain storm swept through the region.

The storm knocked down trees and power lines — and even turned deadly in Snohomish County. That's where a driver died after a tree fell on a car in the 23200 block of Florence Acres Road, near Highway 2 in Monroe, around 8 p.m. Wednesday, according to Snohomish Regional Fire and Rescue.

And in Carnation, Eastside Fire and Rescue said it spent about two hours Wednesday night pulling someone from a trailer that got crushed by part of a 70-foot-tall tree. At last check, that person was taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries.

Meanwhile, utility crews are working as fast as they can to restore power to about 35,000 customers throughout the region who are still waiting for the lights to turn back on as of about 8:30 a.m. Thursday.

More than 120,000 people were without power during the height of the Wednesday night's wind and rain storm, which was dying down Thursday morning.

But it's not over yet: The National Weather Service predicts the region will see increasing rain throughout Thursday.

The Cascades have also been hit hard by the snow — and the snow isn't expected to stop soon.

Overnight snow totals were not immediately available Thursday morning, but the blizzard dumped several inches of fresh powder in the mountains and forced I-90 to close a couple of times Wednesday.

The winds were also howling — a 73 mile-per-hour gust was clocked at Snoqualmie Pass Wednesday, and a 134 mile-per-hour gust was recorded at the Alpental Ski area.

Fortunately, the winds are dying down — but the snow is forecast to keep piling up.

The Cascades remain under a winter storm warning until early Saturday morning, and the mountains could see another 1 to 3 feet of snow.

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Any drivers headed through the passes today should be prepared to chain up and expect pass closures, while WSDOT completes some avalanche control work — especially on Highway 2, heading toward Stevens Pass.

State transportation officials said Thursday morning that the conditions at Stevens Pass are snowy and gusty, but not as windy as Wednesday.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.