Windstorm causes power outages, topples trees, damaging dorm at WWU The Bellingham Herald 1/13/2021 Robert Mittendorf, The Bellingham Herald (Bellingham, Wash.) Jan. 13—Winds gusting well past 50 mph knocked out electricity across a broad area of the Puget Sound region, according to the National Weather Service and Puget Sound Energy. At least one person was injured in Whatcom County when trees crashed into a dorm at Western Washington University, campus officials said Tuesday night, Jan. 12. Commuters were urged to drive cautiously, especially in the predawn darkness, because of debris and water over roadways. Much of Birch Bay Drive was closed because of high water from seasonal king tides, said John Gargett, deputy director of the Whatcom County Sheriff's Office Division of Emergency Management.