Winter Storm Causing Outages, Downed Trees

Update, 7 a.m.

All Renton schools are open on time today, Monday, Dec. 17, 2012 and busses are operating on normal schedule, District Communications Director Rnady Matheson wrote in an email this morning. Four schools are located in areas where power is out; however, Puget Sound Energy has communicated with the School District that it is working to restore power in those areas.

Original Post:

As of 6 a.m. Monday, 17,000 Puget Sound Energy customers are without power, Renton Fire and Emergency Services firefighters are at the intersection of Benson Drive and South Puget Drive for a tree in the roadway, and wind gusts are hitting gusts of 30 miles per hour.

We'll keep you posted about the latest strom developments here on Patch. Please send news tips to jenny.manning@patch.com. Readers can also follow up on Facebook and on Twitter at @RentonPatch.

For more tips on dealing with surface water issues, see the City’s web pages here. They’re available to help businesses and homeowners 24/7 with sewer overflows, blocked roads and obstructed street signs. Call 425-430-7400, or report it on line here. For emergencies after 3:30 p.m., or on weekends, and if the emergency cannot wait until the next business day, call the Renton Police Department at (425) 430-7500.

For more tips on dealing with heavy rain, see this checklist on Take Winter by Storm, a group formed by public and private utilities of Western Washington.

If you're experiencing an outage or suspect a natural gas leak, call Puget Sound Energy 1-888-225-5773. Click here for real-time updates, or check Twitter.com/PSETalk.

If you rely on public transit, check the status of your ride on Metro Transit Alert Center’s website. Click here for metro's flood routes.

Puget Sound energy posted this notice to its web site this morning:

The National Weather Service has forecast a significant weather storm to hit the region Sunday evening. In addition to strong winds, coastal flooding and mountain blizzard conditions are in the forecast. Strong winds are expected to begin near midnight, with the most severe winds -- up to 70 mph -- reaching our area around 4 a.m. 

If you lose power, report it by calling 1-888-225-5773.  If you see a downed power line, stay away and report it to PSE.  We have 83 crews ready to respond overnight. Additional crews have been called and will arrive in the morning. If the storm is as severe as predicted, it could take a few days to restore power to all our customers. Go to www.PSE.com/prepare for emergency preparedness tips and information.