Soggy In Seattle

While the winds die down a little, rain and more rain was in the forecast Wednesday morning for the Seattle area, reports CBS This Morning Meteorologist Craig Allen.

Wind gusts reached 70 mph at times Tuesday, and the ground was drenched, causing mudslides that took out roads and toppled trees.

Things are only going to get soggier Wednesday, with winds of 25 to 45 mph. The wind-and-rain mixture means that it's likely that more power lines will come down and more trees will topple.

The day is expected to bring another half-inch of rain to the Seattle area.

In Spokane, utility crews are busy repairing damage wrought by the wind storms. The biggest problem was in the Puget Sound area, where a downed tree knocked out a high-voltage transmission line. Some 60,000 customers were left in the dark.

The strongest winds, however, were farther east. A 63-mile-per-hour gust was recorded in Spokane, and a 73-mile-per-hour gust was reported just outside the city.

There are no reports of storm-related injuries, although trees fell on several houses and trailers. The only casualties were a litter of puppies that died in a house fire blamed on the storm.

John Short's daughter was home when an 80-foot tree fell on their home in Spokane.

"The window shattered and covered the sofa with all the glass," Short said. "She's a pretty lucky kid."

In the Tri-Cities, 60 mph winds kicked up so much dust that a Delta Air Lines flight circled the airport an extra time to get better visibility.

"I saw flags being ripped to shreds," said Annabelle Wall of Kennewick.

A tree from Theresa Taffin's front yard caused trouble for nearby Spokane drivers.

"I heard this 'whomp' and looked out the window, and a tree was blocking four lanes of traffic," she said. "It's lucky it didn't hit anybody."

On Vancouver Island, more than 20,000 customers of British Columbia Hydro were without electricity for a time as the wind uprooted trees, blew down utility poles and tore metal flashing off rooftops in Victoria, the provincial capital.

One man needed hospital treatment after being hit by a metal plate from a building in Victoria.