Storm brings driving rain, scattered power outages

Keep telling yourself this: Spring is just four days away. Spring is just four days away.

But winter slapped us in the face with driving rain and winds Sunday, drenching many who ventured outside.

Weather watcher Steve Pierce of Vancouver sent this message Sunday afternoon: "A surprisingly strong storm system formed just off the Washington Coast Sunday morning and moved quickly toward Vancouver Island. The movement and depth created a strong pressure gradient across the metro area. Gusts were reported as high as 40 mph locally, with some rural areas seeing gusts as high as 50 mph. Winds (today) will be considerably lighter. Additional weaker systems are forecasted to pass through the area in the coming week."

Pierce said he measured a 41 mph gust at his house near Vancouver Mall at 12:30 p.m. Sunday. He is an officer with the local chapter of the American Meteorological Society.

Some Clark Public Utilities customers lost electricity because of winds, said spokesman Mick Shutt.

He said 368 customers in the Amboy area lost electricity about 4:05 p.m. Sunday. Power had been restored to most customers later Sunday and was expected to be restored to the rest by late Sunday night, he said.

Residents of two other areas lost electricity when branches fell on power lines, Shutt said. Near 212th Avenue and 83rd Street, 46 customers lost power around noon. Also Sunday afternoon, 75 customers in the area of 199th Street and 72nd Avenue lost electricity. Power was back on in both of those areas later Sunday, Shutt said.

Pearson Field had 0.67 of an inch of rain for the 24 hours through 5 p.m. Sunday.

"That’s quite a bit, yeah," said Dave Willson, meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Portland. The record for March 15 is 1.43 inches, in 1967.

But the Sunday rain was worse in some spots for the same 24 hours. Kelso had 0.91 of an inch; Seaside, Ore., 1.62 inches; and Astoria, 1.27 inches.

And what about the week ahead?

"It just looks like we’re going to be in a unsettled period." So, showers "off and on into the week," Willson said.

No high winds are forecast, though.

So, what will it be like Friday, the first day of spring?

"That’ll be rain again," Willson said.