The weather forecast has been calling for more clouds and cooler temperatures, but we weren’t expecting the booming thunder and bright lightning!

Thunderstorms in July? Just what we need! I understand that summertime rain happens, but we just got our sunny days back… OK, I’m done whining now. Here’s hoping forecasters are right, and we’re back to the warm summer sun later this week. In the meantime, here’s a look at the storm from the KIRO7 doppler radar as of 8:01 a.m. Looks like more rain is headed our way.

On top of that some folks over in Sunset Hill in Ballard have already lost power this morning.

The forecast, according to KING5, is still calling for highs in the 70s, with cooler temps later the next couple of days followed by clouds and sun.

It was a weekend of unexpected surprises for many in Queen Anne, beginning with those who woke up without power Saturday Morning. The outage, which was caused by a blown transformer and left nearly 10,000 people without electricity in Queen Anne and Magnolia, was not aided by the wind, which toppled over several trees in the neighborhood, adding to the chaos.

This video, submitted by MichaelG, illustrates the scene at 1400 Bigelow Ave N on the hill, where one large tree not only fell into the street and took down some power lines, but crushed a parked car in the process.

The above photo was also submitted by MichaelG.

Photo submitted by Chas Royal.

The fallen tree blocked through access on Bigelow, and City Light and Seattle Fire Department crews kept the area closed off for most of the day while they cleaned up the mess.

Photo submitted by Mark Taylor.

According to Seattle City Light, all but 1,900 customers had their power restored by 1 p.m. Saturday. But the incident served as evidence of what can happen when Queen Anne’s aging power lines and a little unfavorable weather meet—what crews on the scene were calling a “real mess.”

Seattle City Light will be running another planned power outage at Seattle Center from 11 p.m. tonight, Monday, October 25, to 7 a.m. tomorrow, Tuesday, October 26 as part of their ongoing work to rebuild the aged electrical system in the area.

During this outage, Seattle Center Crews will complete cable replacement and install new junction boxes. The area affected by the outage is bordered by Mercer Street on the north, Denny Way on the south, 5th Avenue North of the east and 1st Avenue North on the west. All customers affected by the planned outage have been notified by mail.

According to Seattle City Light, this work is part of the systematic replacement of the electric system serving Seattle Center. Additional outages will be required to complete the work, but City Light says those affected will be, as usual, notified in advance. For more information contact Mark VanOss at (206) 684-3279 or at mark.vanoss@seattle.gov.

Seattle City Light has been working to rebuild the electrical system at Seattle Center and around Lower Queen Anne (especially after all of the planned and unplanned outages over the last year). The work, however, requires a planned outage in the area from 11 p.m. tonight, Thursday, September 9, from to 7 a.m. Friday morning. Here are the details from City Light:

New cable will be pulled in and connected along a Thomas Street section of the system.  The area affected by the outage is bordered by Mercer Street on the north, Denny Way on the south, 5th Avenue North of the east and 1st Avenue North on the west.  The electrical system serving the Seattle Center campus is aging.  This work is part two of three phases in a systemic replacement of the system.   Three additional outages will be needed to complete phase two.  The dates of those outages are still being confirmed.

Please contact Kelly Enright at (206) 684-3111 or email her at kelly.enright@seattle.gov for more information.

Update Seattle City Light says (and Silver concurs in comments) that as of about 10 p.m. power has been restored to all customers in Queen Anne.

Earlier: About 1600 customers are without power in Queen Anne, in an area roughly from W. Barrett St. to Denny, and 2nd Ave. N to 17th Ave. W. Seattle City Light says the cause is an underground cable failure.

The power outage began at 7:30 p.m., and City Light says the estimated time to restore power is 11 p.m. to midnight. Earlier, about 80 customers in the Fremont area lost power. (Thanks Silver for the tip!)

According to Seattle City Light, power went out at around 9:30 a.m. Saturday morning for 156 buildings in Lower Queen Anne, including the entire Seattle Center campus as well as surrounding homes and businesses.

Power was returned to most affected within 30 minutes of the outage, and crews were able to restore service to all remaining buildings by 1:30 p.m. this afternoon. According to City Light,

The cause of the outage was a failed cable splice. Crews routed power around the bad section to restore power and will work on replacing the bad section of cable over the next several days.

Reader Chris Blakeley sent us this photo of the power outages aftermath today, snapped at about 4:30 this afternoon outside Caffe Zingaro on Mercer St.

“It seemed…fitting somehow,” he wrote.

The two outages today left several residents and businesses without power for most of the day, including, at some point, Seattle Center, the Space Needle and a number of local cafes and coffee shops (whatever will us Seattle-ites do without our caffeine fix!). Power is still out for some 500 people in Lower Queen Anne, which City Light hopes to restore by 8:40 tonight. Meanwhile, City Council voted to go ahead with a 13.8 percent City Light rate increase stating January 1, 2010.

Thanks to Chris for the picture!

Just a reminder there will be another planned power outage tomorrow morning, Monday, October 26, from around midnight to 7 a.m. (set your cell phones accordingly!) so that Seattle City Light can make further repairs to the underground electrical distribution system damaged in the previous recent outages.

City Light should have already contacted your if you’re going to be affected by this outage (the same group of businesses and residents who were affected by the planned power outage on Sunday, September 27). However, last time many people who were not notified in advance lost power.

Lose power outside the planned outage zone? Email us at tips@queenanneview.com.

Seattle City Light has announced another planned power outage on Monday, October 26, so that they may make further repairs to the underground electrical distribution system. It is scheduled to begin sometime after midnight and continue until 7 a.m.

City Light is contacting those who will be affected directly. These are supposed to be the same group of businesses and residents who were affected by the planned power outage on Sunday, September 27. For more information, contact Mike Eagan at (206) 615-1691 or mike.eagan@seattle.gov.

After the problems that ensued over the last several Queen Anne power outages, what do you think about this planned outage? Email us at tips@queenanneview.com.

Last night at around 9 p.m. power went out for around 10,000 people in Queen Anne and Magnolia, the third blackout on the hill this week. For several hours thereafter power slowly came back on, and was finally restored to the remaining 280 without around 5 a.m. today, according to Seattle City Light official Roberto Bonaccorso.

According to the city, the outage was caused by a “faulty cable,” but City Light is currently looking into whether the blackout was related to the power outages on Saturday and last week and is expected to release a statement later this morning.

We received an anonymous tip that a fire at 8th and Galer has knocked out power in at least two blocks in all directions last night, and several readers reported seeing a “bright flash” outside, before losing power. The Seattle Fire Department was called to 812 W Galer St at around 9:33 pm for a fire in a single family home. Bonaccorso at Seattle City Light has said he will be looking into whether or not the fire was related.

One of our readers, OB, who lives on 7th & Galer witnessed the “bright flashes” and commented on last night’s story. They wrote,

I live at 7th and Galer, and it was hairy around here last night. There was a flash and a bang at about 9:10 p.m. – I went to the window and looked out and there was another flash and bang – and a pause – and then a really LOUD flash and bang. The lights went out and then came back, went out again and then came back again, then went out for good. I think there may have been more than three flash-and-bangs, but I’m not sure.

One transformer apparently blew right out of the ground, on the west side of 8th a couple of houses north of Galer. The police taped it off and people were gathered around staring at it in awe and taking pictures. I’m guessing that was the really LOUD bang I heard!

The power came back on here at 4:40 this morning.

Update 1:30 am: City Light now says all but 280 customers have been restored. The outage was caused by a “faulty cable.”

Update 11:59 pm: A reader commented,

Power is back up here at W. Roy & 1st, but I have a friend who lives on Olympic Way W. & 10th and it’s still out up there.

She has a view of Magnolia and says it looks “lit up”.

Update 11:48 pm: Seattle City Light says crews have restored power to most of the 10,000 originally affected, but 1,417 still don’t have power in Queen Anne and Magnolia. They say the outage was caused by a faulty cable. The boarders of the affected area remain the same.

Update 11:44 pm: Power reported back on at Aloha between 2nd and Warren and at 13th Ave W. ColinAC says the fire blew three transformers and caught a Queen Anne basement on fire. He has video here.

Update: 11:32 pm: Power back on W Prospect, according to a reader.

Update 11:22 pm: Silver writes,

Now the fire department is getting multiple false alarms from the area near 15th W and 4th Ave West. They believe that these may be related to the power outages.

Update 11:15 pm: Seattle City Light now says 6,827 in Queen Anne and Magnolia are experiences power outages, caused by a faulty cable. As of no there is no time estimation for when power will be back on.

Update 11:01 pm: Summer D reports that power went back up at 11, but only for a few minutes and is now down again. She’s at 4th and Mercer.

A lot of people have said the power is flickering. Peggy Fitzgerald writes,

Power just sputtered on at 10:58 then off a minute later. My husband said he saw massive flashing in the sky by the PI sign -electrical arcing. He said it was bright enough to be
reflecting off all the buildings to the south. It stopped when the power went off again.

Also the outage stops at mercer. Another bright flash as it tried to restart again and I’m hearing fire engines again  to the south.

Update 10:25 pm: An anonymous tip says a fire at 8th and Galer has knocked out power in at least two blocks in all directions.

Seattle City Light has just sent out a press release stating that crews are responding to two power outages affecting 10,666 customers in Queen Anne and Magnolia. The causes of the outages or the estimated times for restoration for both are unknown.

The first outage affects 6,656 customers in Queen Anne. The boundaries are: West Barrett Street to the north, West Harrison Street to the south, Taylor Avenue North to the east and 11th Avenue West to the west.

The second outage affects 4,010 customers near the Magnolia neighborhood. The boundaries are: West Emerson Street to the north, West Mercer Street to the south, Taylor Avenue North to the east and 32nd Avenue West to the west.

Silver posted in our forum,

They also linked a map of the location of the fire.

One of our readers says they saw a flash before the power went out. Summer D writes,

Power went out at 9:20pm on 4th Ave W and Mercer. Bright flash in the sky, couple of surges, then poof.

The outage seems to be pretty extensive this time. Peggy Fitzgerald writes,

Have no power on 2nd West by Kinnear and Prospect. It appears to go down the hill to the
water. Bartells and Met Market both have no power. QFC over near Mercer is closed too.

9:50 pm: Four readers have reported yet another power outage on Queen Anne tonight.

Apparently power went out around 9 p.m. and is reported down at 5th Ave W just north of Howe, 11th & McGraw, Queen Anne Ave, Comstock and Prospect. Sirens were heard racing up the hill at 9:40.

There is no information on Seattle City Light‘s website or informational hotline (206-684-7400) as of now. While waiting to talk to a representative to report the outage I was disconnected and told their customer service center was closed (hours 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.)

The number provided for electrical emergencies is (206) 706-0051. As there have been no reports of the outage so far, if you have any further information (and have a power supply) please comment or email us at tips@queenanneview.com and maybe we can figure out how far this outage extends.

Thanks to Josh Pollock, Megan Muir, Anna Petrocco and Stephanie Ellis-Smith for tipping me as soon as you lost power!

Update 2:07 pm: Still no word from Seattle City Light on what went wrong this morning. According to City Light officials, the outage was only supposed to affect those who had been notified in advance by the city, within the boundaries of Queen Anne Ave., Taylor Ave., Denny Way and Mercer St. between midnight this morning and 8 a.m. Many readers who live outside this outage zone have said that their power went out at around 9 a.m., well after the city repairs were scheduled to be done, affecting a much larger area between W Barrett, W Harrison, Taylor N and 15th Ave W.

Although power is back on, the Seattle City Light website and hotline (206-684-7400) have not yet been updated with information on what caused the extended outage.

Reporting this outage without power myself proved a particular challenge. Thank you to all the readers who wrote in (especially Jon, Jennifer, Josh and David), as well as everyone who commented on the story. I’ll keep you posted as more information is available.

Update 1:33 pm: Power is up, but Comcast service is down for many, including myself.

Update 12:56 pm: David Clinkston says power is still out at 1st Ave W and Kinnear. Jennifer Smith says power is back on at 4th Ave in Uptown.

Several readers have written in to report power outages beyond what City Light anticipated yesterday.

Jon Boyce says the power is out on 9th Ave W.

Jennifer Smith writes,

So much for the borders the city gave us.  I’m over on 4th west on Lower QA and after several surges all the power is out on my street.

Josh Pollock says the power is also out on 5th Ave W just north of Howe. He got the scoop from the city too! Josh writes,

Seattle city light says the cause of the outage is unknown. Multiple crews working on it. Affects 12000 customers. Affected area is from W Barrett on the north to W Harrison on the south, from Taylor N over to 15th Ave W.

Thanks to Jon, Jennifer and Josh for the tips! Sorry for the delay, my power is also out.

Just a reminder, Seattle City Light will be shutting down power at Seattle Center and some of the surrounding areas tomorrow, Saturday, September 26 from approximately midnight to 8 a.m., to attend to “urgent repairs” needed to the area’s electrical distribution system, caused by last week’s surprise power outage. (The cable/splice failure that occurred in an electrical vault at 5^th Ave. N. & Mercer St. that caused the outage last Wednesday needs to be fixed).

Power will be turned off in the general area from Queen Anne Ave. on the west to Taylor Ave. on the east, and from Denny Way on the south end to Mercer St. to the north. Seattle City Light emphasized that not everyone within these boundaries will lose power.

Mike Eagan from Seattle City Light emailed me to reiterate that those who will have their power shut off have already been notified by the city. He writes,

Only those businesses who received written notification directly from City Light will be affected.

So if you haven’t heard from City Light, your power should be unaffected by the scheduled outage.

Seattle City Light announced today that it will be shutting down power at Seattle Center and some of the surrounding areas on Saturday, September 26 from approximately midnight to 8 a.m., so that crews may attend to “urgent repairs” needed to the area’s electrical distribution system.

This comes after a surprise power outage last Wednesday, September 16, knocked out power to upwards of 7,000 residents and business owners in Uptown and on parts of the hill. Although Seattle City Light was able to reroute and restore power within 30 minutes, the cable/splice failure that occurred in an electrical vault at 5^th Ave. N. & Mercer St., causing the outage, still needs to be fixed. According to City Light “the damaged vault contains the two main power feeds to the Center and the electrical distribution lines for several blocks around the Center grounds.”

Power will be turned off in the general area from Queen Anne Ave. on the west to Taylor Ave. on the east, and from Denny Way on the south end to Mercer St. to the north. Seattle City Light emphasized that not everyone within these boundaries will lose power.

Click here for more information on preparing for a power outage.

We just got an email from one of our readers, Jonathan, informing us of a big power outage in Uptown today. He writes,

Just heard from my girlfriend at home in lower Q.A. – I guess there’s a power outage affecting about 7000 customers right now. The area is 2nd N and 11th W. between Harrison and W Barrett.  No idea what caused it.

We’re looking into it! Stay tuned for updates. If anyone has any information on the power outage, email us at tips@queenanneview.com, or post a comment.

Thanks to Jonathan for the tip!

Update 1:53 p.m. – According to Seattle City Light,at approximately 1:03 p.m. this afternoon power went out for an estimated 6, 656 Queen Anne residents and businesses on the south and west sides of the hill and a small portion of Uptown.