Windstorm knocks out power, downs trees in Tri-Cities. Landslide reported
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Windstorm toppled trees and power poles across Tri‑Cities, causing power outages.
- Roads closed as utility crews replaced poles and streets were cleared.
- Landslide left debris on highway in Franklin County.
The wind blasted the Tri-Cities early Wednesday morning, knocking down trees, taking out power and causing a landslide in Franklin County.
Before 4 a.m. a peak wind gust of 66 mph was recorded at the Tri-Cities Airport. Sustained wind speeds then were 48 mph, according to National Weather Service data.
Utility crews spent much of the night responding to widespread power outages caused by the windstorm.
At a home near Grosscup Boulevard and North 61st Street in West Richland, a fallen tree crushed a 30-foot travel trailer parked in the driveway and damaged power lines.
In Richland, residents were talking on social media about at least two power poles that were knocked down by the wind, plus many trees down in the “alphabet house” neighborhoods of the center of the city.
The Washington state Department of Transportation reported a small landslide onto Highway 263, sometimes called Devils Canyon Road, a mile southwest of Kahlotus in Franklin County and debris on the road.
Power outages
The Benton PUD reported two poles down and a short circuit in its distribution lines for the south Badger Canyon area of Kennewick that caused a power outage for about 260 customers shortly before 4 a.m.
About the same time it reported an outage in the area of Highway 240 and Columbia Center Boulevard that affected about 350 customers due to a tree that had fallen on a power line.
Power was restored to most Kennewick customers by 9:30 a.m. Five customers remained without power until poles could be replaced.
Three outages were reported in the center of Richland due to fallen power poles, power lines and trees. The Thayer substation was damaged by two trees falling on circuits.
Liberty Christian School at 2200 Williams Boulevard in Richland was expected to be without power for the day and class was canceled.
Wright Street was closed between Pullen Street and Williams Boulevard shortly before 6 a.m. because of fallen trees and debris on the road. Raleigh, Roberdeau and Putnam streets were also closed as of shortly before 7 a.m.
The city reported that power had been restored to all but about 100 customers by 7 a.m., with most of those near Liberty Christian School.
At 1:15 p.m. crews were continuing work to replace three poles and wiring after a large tree fell. It expected all customers to have power restored by 3:30 p.m.
The Benton PUD reported about 935 customers without power in Benton City around 8:30 a.m. due to a broken arm on a power pole. Power was restored before 9 a.m.
Benton REA, serving West Richland, reported scattered outages.
Franklin PUD had no significant outages, but did restore power to a handful of customers.
The city of Pasco advised residents to postpone park visits until the wind subsided because of the danger of falling limbs and debris on the ground.
Tri-Cities weather forecast
Temperatures will be cooling, after eight days in the Tri-Cities with highs in the 60s this month, including a high of 69 on Monday. It set a new daily high temperature record.
Normal highs for mid-December are about 41 degrees and normal lows are about 27 degrees.
Highs are forecast to drop to 49 Friday and Saturday and lows could cool to 34 on Saturday night, according to the weather service.
Saturday should be dry before a chance of rain returns through Monday.
Mountain snow
Warm weather has caused precipitation to fall in the Cascade Mountains as rain, melting snow, earlier this week.
But cooler weather means travelers crossing the mountains for the rest of this week should be prepared for significant amounts of new snow at times.
A 90% to 100% chance of snow is forecast from Wednesday through at least Saturday night at Snoqualmie Pass on Interstate 90, with snow likely through Tuesday.
A winter weather advisory is issued through 4 p.m. Thursday.
On Wednesday, 4 to 8 inches of snow was forecast. Thursday the forecast predicted 1 to 3 inches of snow on the pass and Friday 3 to 7 inches with another 4 to 8 inches Friday night.
Yakima River flooding
The Yakima River had dropped from a crest of nearly 16.3 feet about noon Saturday at the Kiona gauge near Benton City to just under 9.2 feet Tuesday evening before starting to rise again.
The Kiona gauge is the closest to the Tri-Cities.
Wednesday night the Yakima River there was at about 9.6 feet deep and water was forecast to rise to a second peak of about 13.3 feet Saturday night. That could send more water onto already saturated land. Minor flood stage of the river is 13 feet.
Scott Hunt contributed to this report.
This story was originally published December 17, 2025 at 3:01 PM.