PORT ANGELES — Strong winds across the North Olympic Peninsula resulted in ferry schedule changes and the potential closures of the Hood Canal bridge.
The strongest winds were forecast to hit the Peninsula on Tuesday afternoon and abate by early this morning, National Weather Service meteorologist Anna Lindeman said.
Neah Bay was likely to see wind gusts of about 60 to 65 mph starting about 3 p.m., with the strongest winds occurring between 5 p.m. and 9 p.m., Lindeman said.
“There is a chance they could see a stray wind gust or two above 65 mph,” she added.
Sustained winds in Neah Bay during the peak period will probably be between 40 and 45 mph, Lindeman said.
Port Angeles and Sequim both were likely to be sheltered from the strongest winds due to the wind’s east to southeast direction, Lindeman said.
Sustained winds in these areas were expected to be between 30 to 40 mph, starting around 5 p.m. and peaking by 11 p.m. Gusts will be “up to 50 mph, maybe even 55 mph,” Lindeman said.
Port Townsend was forecast to have sustained winds of about 30 to 35 mph, with gusts between 55 and 60 mph.
Winds at Port Townsend “might hang on a little bit longer” than the rest of the Peninsula, and it will likely be “fairly breezy” into mid-Wednesday morning, Lindeman said.
Due to the predicted high winds, the Black Ball Ferry between Port Angeles and Victoria modified its sailing schedule for Tuesday. The MV Coho departed Port Angeles at 1 p.m. and departed Victoria at 3 p.m. All other sailings were scheduled for normal operation.
The Hood Canal bridge may experience closures due to wind conditions.
State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) employee David Garcia said bridge closures depend on a lot of factors, including wind direction and speed, but “generally anything above 40 mph we highly consider closing the bridge.”
To learn about bridge closures, WSDOT recommends checking the bridge’s status on the WSDOT website.
