By Ali Fateh and Simon Moya-Smith, NBC News
More than 135,000 people were without power, two were injured and motorists abandoned their cars on a floating bridge Saturday as a fast-moving windstorm swept the Seattle area, officials said.
Puget Sound Energy, which serves counties around Seattle, told NBC News that 95,000 customers were without electricity in the afternoon. The storm knocked down several distribution lines early Saturday.
"We expect the situation to worsen in the next few hours," Ray Lane of Puget's communications department said.
Gusts in Seattle and the region around it hit 60 mph or more.
The Washington State Department of Transportation closed the State Route 520 floating bridge across Lake Washington for two hours because of high winds and large waves.
Troopers said as many as 50 cars were abandoned on the westbound lanes of the bridge. Troopers on foot escorted the people back to their vehicles.
A 48-year-old man was seriously injured when a tree fell on his car and a 2-year-old was hurt when a branch broke from a tree and hit her near the University of Washington, NBC station KING 5 of Seattle reported.
Seattle City Light, another main energy distributor, said that 40,000 customers suffered power failures in its service territory within Seattle and suburbs around it.
As the storm moves through the area, elevations above 2,500 feet were expected to get between 6 and 11 inches of snow in a 12-hour period.
The National Weather Service issued a wind warning for much of Saturday covering coastal areas in Washington and Oregon.
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