Another storm sweeps into area: A soaker, with strong gusts expected

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SEATTLE -- The images are both dramatic and devastating.

The Saturday storm blew in packing high winds and rain and the damage that comes with it.

There were trees down, not just on power lines, but on cars and homes.

"I thought it was an earthquake at first until I heard Robin say, 'Hey, just saw a tree fall on our house,'” homeowner Dan Miles said.

Now comes the second wave of the week.

This storm is expected to hit Thursday and drop much more rain than Saturday’s storm. Perhaps no one fears that scenario more than Jay Himmelman and his neighbors on Panaview Boulevard in Everett.

"It used to be I was excited because as a skier there's snow in the mountains.  Now it's just ugly because I know exactly what happens,” Himmelman said.

He knows because he's seen it happen far too many times and it's not a pretty sight.

Water, a lot of water, flows into the creek behind their homes at such a high rate they believe it's causing deep-seated erosion and homes are sliding down the hill.

"Here it comes again, so it's sad.  It's just sad.  I'm just sick of it at this point. I'm just sick of it,” Himmelman said.

While Jay and his neighbors hope for the best, most everyone else is preparing for the worst.

"We're expecting gusts up to 40 mph in Snohomish County, which could create a problem.  We've had some moisture. Trees may be more prone to coming down,” Snohomish County PUD spokesman Neil Neroutsos said.

The Snohomish County PUD, along with other utilities and WSDOT crews, are loaded and ready to hit the streets if there are problems.

"The one thing that will work in our favor is the storm last week probably brought down some of the more susceptible tree limbs that are on trees but still there is a danger that we may see some power outages overnight into tomorrow morning,” Neroutsos said Wednesday night.

The other big problem is urban flooding.

Saturday's storm blew a lot of leaves from trees all over and now they sit curbside.

All that's needed is a heavy flow of rainwater to move leaves from the curb to the storm drain.

Once it's clogged, street flooding will soon follow, so everyone is urged to keep them clear around your home.

"Make sure you have the supplies on hand.  If you're going to lose power for five or six hours, potentially, during a storm event, make sure you have the food that you need, make sure you have a warm room designated in your house, make sure you have some backup plans, a friend or neighbor you can visit who has power,” Neroutsos said.