Bomb cyclone hits west coast, 1 death in Washington state

On November 20, 2024By Pranco

One person was killed and two injured by falling trees in Washington state as a powerful storm moved into the Pacific Northwest.

In Lynwood, a woman in her 50s was killed Tuesday night when a tree fell on a homeless encampment. In Puget Sound, two were taken to hospitals when a tree fell on a trailer, officials said.

Eastside Fire & Rescue responds to a fallen tree during a severe storm in Issaquah, Washington, November 19, 2024.

Fire and rescue on the east side

The storm exploded in one bomb cyclone off the coast near Vancouver Island, Canada, where wind gusts reached nearly 100 miles per hour.

A bomb cyclone causes the pressure in the center of the storm to drop by 24 millibars within 24 hours.

Wind gusts reached 50 to 80 mph from Northern California to Washington.

In this image from Eastside Fire & Rescue, officials investigate the scene where a tree fell on a home in Issaquah, Washington, November 19, 2024.

Eastside Fire & Rescue via AP

As the storm barrels across the ocean this week, it will help push a plume of moisture from the Pacific Ocean, an atmospheric river, toward Oregon and Northern California.

A low-pressure storm system known as a “bomb cyclone” forms off the coast of the U.S. Pacific Northwest and western Canada in a composite satellite image from November 19, 2024.

Cira/noaa/via Reuters

Warnings are in effect until Friday for floods, snow, avalanches and high winds.

Some places could see more than a foot of rain this week. A flood warning has been issued in Northern California.