Thunderstorm's high winds knock out power, down trees
Grant PUD: at least 6,000 customers without electricity early Friday morning.
EPHRATA — The National Weather Service issued a hazardous weather advisory Thursday evening for eastern Washington and the Columbia Basin due to threats of severe thunderstorms, high winds, blowing dust, and rain showers.
As of Friday morning, there were no initial reports of serious injuries within Grant County as a result of the swift-moving storm which blanketed the region.
But on Facebook, Grant County PUD said it received “an overwhelming number” of phone calls reporting power outages overnight. At 6 a.m. Friday, the utility district estimated it had at least 6,000 customers without electricity, primarily in the central portion of Grant County. An hour later, the Coulee City area was added to the list because an Avista transmission line feeding a local substation had lost power.
Within a few hours, PUD crews had restored service to many locations, but still had an estimated 2,500 customer meters without power at 8 a.m.
An online map at grantpud.org/outages shows locations where more than 50 customers lack power. Customers who are not in those mapped locations and have not previously reported an outage or damaged equipment are asked to call PUD customer service at 1-800-216-5226.
Along with reports of downed power lines, Grant County’s MACC Dispatch Center received about two dozen calls between 9 p.m. Thursday and 4:30 a.m. Friday regarding fallen trees blocking county roadways. One caller said a tree was blocking the wheelchair ramp at his home. There was a report of an irrigation wheel line blown into a roadway. Another caller said a radio tower had fallen and struck a residence.
Forecasters had predicted there would be considerable tree damage, and possibly for outbuildings, roofs, and mobile homes, as a result of high winds.
At Grant County International Airport near Moses Lake, wind gusts up to 69 mph were reported at 8:52 p.m. Thursday. At the Ephrata Airport, gusts peaked at 59 mph around 9:10 p.m. and south winds averaged over 25 mph until starting to ease shortly before 10 p.m.
During that time, frequent lightning flashes illuminated the dramatic cloud cover which blew over the Basin, accompanied by localized thundershowers.
