UPDATE | Power back on after windstorms sweep Whidbey

Power was restored Monday to thousands of island customers whose service was disrupted by windstorms early Monday morning, Puget Sound Energy reported Tuesday.

Power was restored Monday to thousands of island customers whose service was disrupted by windstorms early Monday morning, Puget Sound Energy reported Tuesday.

High winds — with gusts to 65 miles per hour — swept across Whidbey Island overnight and through much of the morning.

“There were a number of scattered outages, but they were taken care of quickly,” said Dorothy Bracken, PSE spokeswoman.

A later report from the neighborhood, however, said that about 20 homes in the Honeymoon Bay Road area were still without power at noon on Tuesday.

Bracken said more than a dozen outages, all caused by trees and limbs knocking down power lines, left more than 2,400 Whidbey Island customers without power for periods of up to several hours.

She said more than 1,700 customers in the Freeland area alone were without power for about two hours early Monday morning.

Bracken said most power was restored by midday Monday, but crews continued to work into the evening.

Island County Fire District 3 crews responded to more than 20 calls beginning at about 2 a.m. Monday, and all but one were related to the weather, said Assistant Chief Mike Cotton.

There were many reports of trees on power lines and branches scattered on roadways, Cotton said.

Intermittent power disruption was reported in several other areas of South Whidbey, including Clinton, Glendale, Langley, Scatchet Head and in the vicinity of Goss Lake.

Crews also worked to remove a large tree that blocked Holst Road at Glendale Road about 6 a.m., Cotton said.

Downed power lines also were reported at Wilkinson Road and Commercial Street in Clinton, and along Deer Lake Road.

Minor cases of flooding due to the wind-whipped waves and high tide also were reported, Cotton said.

No injuries were reported due to the weather.

Up north, a corrugated metal roof over Oak Harbor Marina’s “C” dock gave way to the wind early Monday, damaging the canvas canopy and mast of a pleasure boat, the Whidbey News-Times reported.

Gusts to 65 miles per hour were recorded at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island in Oak Harbor about 6 a.m., the highest recorded in the Puget Sound area, said Johnny Burg of the National Weather Service in Seattle.

Nancy Zaretzke of the WSU Island County Extension said the wind hit a high of 55 mph in Greenbank on Monday, the highest speed noted there since that station began recording the weather.

Meanwhile, the 9:30 a.m. ferry sailing from Port Townsend and the 10:15 a.m. sailing from Keystone were cancelled Monday due to high winds and rough water in Admiralty Inlet.

The National Weather Service said the intense period of high winds was caused by an extreme low-pressure system from out of the south.