Beginning Thursday, the National Weather Service is predicting the first big storms of the fall to bring a lot of wind and rain to Western Washington.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Wind gusts may exceed 40 MPH Thursday evening through late Thursday night and several inches of rain are predicted. Strong winds also could hit on Saturday.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Protect yourself, your family, and your home by following these tips provided by the Kent Regional Fire Authority:<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
When at home<\/strong>:<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Keep your gutters clean and free of debris.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Help your local street department and clean out storm drains near your home to avoid flooding.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Store any items that might blow away or be damaged by rain and wind.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Assess whether your home is at risk due to falling branches.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Have essentials like baby food, diapers, and medications stocked up.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Have flashlights and extra batteries ready.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Have a plan in case you cannot stay in your home.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n When you are on the road:<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p>\n Check for weather and road conditions before driving.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Always obey “road closed” signs. They are there for a reason.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Never drive through moving water, which can sweep even a heavy vehicle away.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Avoid driving through any standing water. Water can hide lane markers, ditches, and washed out roads.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n If you have to drive through water, drive slowly and steadily. Driving fast can cause you to lose control, flood your engine, and cause difficulties for other drivers.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Once clear of standing water, drive slowly and tap your brakes to dry them.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n If your vehicle becomes stranded in standing or moving water and you cannot get out safely, call 9-1-1.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Heavy rain can cause mud, trees, and other debris to slide onto roadways.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n If traveling over mountain passes, check for conditions, closures, and tire restrictions.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Whenever driving in bad weather, carry a cell phone.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Carry boots, a rain coat, and umbrella when traveling in wet conditions. This includes for any children in the vehicle.<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Beginning Thursday, the National Weather Service is predicting the first big storms of the fall to bring a lot of wind and rain to Western Washington.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":106,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-22572","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22572"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/106"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22572"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22572\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22572"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22572"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22572"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=22572"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}