Falling trees kill three during Washington state windstorm

SEATTLE, Nov. 18 (UPI) -- Three people died and more than 300,000 lost power after a mighty windstorm moved across Washington state, causing major damage and deadly tree falls.

The storm system peaked Tuesday in the Seattle metropolitan area, where the storms became deadly, The Seattle Times reported. Wind gusts reached about 60 mph throughout the day.

In the Monroe area, a man in his 20s died at about 2 p.m. when a tree fell on his car. Another tree fell in Spokane at about 4 p.m. and killed a woman in her 50s. A woman also died after a tree fell when she was driving about 5 miles east of Cheney.

Meanwhile, a man believed to be in his late 50s sustained severe burns after touching a fence at his Sultan home that became electrified when wind knocked a power line onto the fence hundreds of feet away. The incident sent "tens of thousands" of volts through him, Snohomish County Fire District 5 Chief Merlin Halverson told The Seattle Times. The man was taken to Harborview Medical Center.

The storms subsided by nighttime, but rising rivers posed a threat to homes and low-lying areas. About 14 areas in western Washington were under flood warning effects. King County's Snoqualmie River had severe flooding, while the Tolt and Cedar rivers had minor flooding.

The Washington Military Department's Emergency Management Division expected flooding at the Chehalis River and the Dungeness River, in Doty and Sequim, respectively.

There were at least three mudslides that blocked roads. Public utility teams are working to restore power to thousands and transportation crews are working to clear fallen trees and debris out of affected roads. Drier, less-windy days were forecast for Seattle on Wednesday.