The residual effects of a freak weather pattern that brought gusty winds to areas along the Strait of Juan de Fuca early Monday were still being felt Monday night.
Residents of Neah Bay and a few scattered areas surrounding Port Angeles remained without power late Monday after winds of 40 to 50 mph — and unconfirmed gusts of more than 70 mph — downed or tipped trees, signs, utility poles and power lines, causing blackouts across Clallam County.
Lights on a radio tower near the mouth of the Elwha River were out shortly after dusk, prompting an advisory to pilots using William R. Fairchild International Airport in Port Angeles.
The radio tower, a few miles west of the runway of the North Olympic Peninsula’s largest airfield, is used as a navigational aid.
The cause of the early Monday winds was not the typical reason for windy conditions along the North Olympic Peninsula.
Early Monday’s gusts were fueled when a small localized area of low pressure formed around the mouth of the Strait of Juan de Fuca and tapped into energy from surrounding weather systems, meteorologists for the National Weather Service said.
The barometric pressure, already below normal, dropped nearly a half-inch between 8 p.m. Sunday and 2 a.m. Monday to create a localized low pressure cell.
Air from surrounding weather systems was sucked into the low pressure, making for the strong winds as the system moved east along the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Admiralty Inlet and Whidbey Island.
It was so localized that Bellingham posted a gust of 49 mph, Oak Harbor on Whidbey Island logged 47 mph and the Port Angeles Group/Air Station on Ediz Hook reported 45 mph — but Orcas Island in the San Juans posted winds of less than 25 mph.
The system passed the Peninsula by 8 a.m., bringing calmer air for the balance of the day — although small-craft advisories for the Strait remained in effect Monday evening.
The hardest hit areas Monday were the West End and Port Angeles, although the Hood Canal Bridge on the Peninsula’s opposite side was closed at 4 a.m. as a precautionary measure for about 2½ hours because of 40 mph winds with gusts to 55 mph.