Seattle power outage map: windstorm knocks out power for more than 150,000 across Puget Sound

A fast-moving Pacific windstorm late Saturday into Sunday (October 25–26) downed trees and power lines across Western Washington, triggering widespread outages from the coast to the central Puget Sound. Utilities reported spikes in customer outages overnight, with Puget Sound Energy (PSE) surpassing six figures at the peak and Seattle City Light, Tacoma Power, and multiple county PUDs also logging scattered blackouts as gusts topped 50–55 mph in places. Restoration efforts continued through Sunday with crews prioritizing hazards, critical infrastructure, and the largest outage clusters.

PSE outage: where the lights are out

PSE recorded the region’s largest share of customers without service on Sunday morning, with the heaviest damage centered south of Seattle. Field assessments cite both neighborhood distribution lines and higher-voltage transmission corridors impacted by fallen timber, which slows restoration because transmission must be re-energized before local repairs can hold. Pierce and Thurston counties saw some of the deepest cuts, while pockets in Kitsap, King, and Mason also experienced extended interruptions. PSE opened its emergency coordination center and storm bases to accelerate crew dispatch and materials staging.

Estimated restoration times (ERTs)

• ERTs are rolling and may change after crews complete patrols and safety clearance.

• Single-customer and small-block outages can resolve quickly; broken poles, crossarms, and downed spans generally require multi-hour repairs.

• If your ERT isn’t posted, it typically means damage evaluation is still underway or a transmission feeder upstream remains out.

Seattle City Light, Tacoma Power, and PUD outage snapshot

Inside Seattle, outages were more scattered but numerous, especially in neighborhoods with mature tree canopies and saturated soils. Seattle City Light reported service restoration progressing circuit by circuit as vegetation teams cleared branches from primaries. To the south, Tacoma Power handled a mix of weather-related faults and isolated incidents (such as vehicle strikes on equipment), while Snohomish County PUD, Grays Harbor PUD, Mason PUD 3, and Clallam PUD each faced storm pockets tied to local wind maxima.

If you’re tracking the broader picture, regional aggregator totals during the late-morning window indicated:

• PSE: roughly 150,000–160,000 customers out at peak, trending down as repairs landed.

• Seattle City Light: tens of thousands affected at various points, with steady restorations through the day.

• County PUDs: Grays Harbor experienced some of the highest local percentages given the coastal exposure.

(Figures fluctuate as circuits return; treat these as order-of-magnitude snapshots rather than fixed tallies.)

Seattle weather: why the wind caused so many outages

This storm combined a sharp surface pressure gradient with saturated soils from recent rain, creating root-plate failures and limb shear even where sustained winds weren’t extreme. Gusts in the 50–55 mph range easily exceeded the threshold for tree damage, and the “one-two” of transmission plus distribution hits explains the step-down nature of restoration: first the backbone, then the branches, then the individual service drops.

What could still change later today

• Secondary gusts behind frontal passage can trigger new, smaller outages as loosened limbs finally fall.

• Crews may rotate to newly discovered hazards (downed lines, arcing equipment), temporarily delaying non-critical restorations.

• River and urban flooding risk is low overall, but localized ponding can complicate access for bucket trucks on side streets.

How to use the outage maps effectively (PSE, City Light, PUDs)

• Report first, then refresh: After you report an outage, it can take up to 20 minutes to appear on a map layer while the system deduplicates tickets.

• Look for status badges such as assessing damage, crew assigned, or repair crew onsite—these indicate where your address sits in the workflow.

• List view vs. map view: When the map is congested, switch to list view to see feeder-level incidents and customer counts.

• Opt into alerts in your utility account to receive ERT changes without reloading the page.

Safety checklist during the Seattle power outage

• Stay 35 feet away from any downed or low-sagging line; treat all lines as energized and call your utility or 911.

• Use generators outdoors only, at least 20 feet from doors/windows; never back-feed a home panel without a transfer switch.

• Unplug sensitive electronics to protect against surges when power returns; leave one interior light on to know when service is back.

• Refrigeration rule of thumb: a closed refrigerator holds safe temperatures for about 4 hours, a full freezer for 48 hours.

• Traffic signals dark? Treat intersections as all-way stops and give yourself extra braking distance on wet leaf-covered roads.

What’s next for restoration across Puget Sound

Expect staggered improvements through Sunday into Monday as vegetation clearing and pole replacements catch up with the largest circuits. Transmission restorations will yield sudden, large drops in outage totals; the tail end will involve smaller, labor-intensive fixes on laterals and individual service lines. Utilities have mobilized mutual-aid crews and will continue triage based on safety, hospitals and critical services, and customer counts per job.

If you’re searching “power outage near me,” check your utility’s outage map and enable notifications, keep phones charged, and plan for one more cycle of intermittent gusts. For those in West Seattle, the South Sound, and coastal counties, tree activity may remain elevated—stay alert for newly blocked roads and fresh line hazards even after your lights are back on.