One dead and toddler injured amid powerful windstorm

Monday, March 14, 2016, 7:08 AM - After last Thursday’s ferocious and deadly wind event across British Columbia, another powerful low has left one man dead in Seattle, Washington. 

The storm continued to impact British Columbia on Sunday with damaging winds and widespread power outages reported.

At the height of the storm, over 30,000 customers were without power in B.C. as peak wind gusts over 115 km/h were recorded. There were no reports of injuries in B.C. on Sunday.

"The low is now moving through central B.C., leaving scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms into the afternoon hours on Monday for coastal regions," says Weather Network meteorologist Erin Wenckstern. "There may be lingering isolated showers on Tuesday, but the clearing trend occurs mid-week with temperatures into the mid-teens and dry conditions expected late week."

DEADLY IMPACT IN SEATTLE

Strong winds ripped through Seward Park in Seattle Sunday afternoon, knocking down a tree that crushed an SUV and killed the driver. A toddler was also in the vehicle at the time of the incident and was taken to hospital with minor injuries, the Seattle Fire Department reported.

Rescue crews received the call around 1:30 p.m. local time and upon arrival, the young girl had already been pulled out of the car by a passerby. It took heavy equipment and almost two hours to get the victim out of the wreckage, the Seattle Times reports.

More than 200,000 customers were without power throughout western Washington Sunday night with power lines and trees continuing to fall. Officials are warning that the ground is heavily saturated and the trees have become weakened as a result of recent rainstorms.

"It looks like the whole area is going to be pretty susceptible to this storm," Seattle City Light spokesman Greg St. Peter told the Seattle Times. "We are expecting some big gusts. I think a lot of trees are going to keep coming down."

The Highway 520 bridge in Washington was closed due to high winds and surf.