WHATCOM COUNTY, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – A wind advisory in effect for the lowlands of Whatcom and Skagit counties has resulted in many power outages in the region.

Puget Sound Energy put a statement on their outage map Friday, Nov. 6 alerting customers that ongoing strong weather systems may impact power lines as wind could knock tree branches with vegetation into power infrastructure over the next few weeks.

Many outages have been reported in several western Washington counties as of 1 p.m. Friday, impacting an estimated 5,278 customers through the 57 separate reports.

Though a wind advisory expires at 4 p.m. Friday, it won’t be the end of the stormy weather. The National Weather Service says more wind and rain is predicted beginning this afternoon for the Bellingham area as a weak system moves through the region.

The showers are expected to continue off and on through the weekend as stronger systems move through the area through the weekend into next week. An atmospheric river is predicted for western Washington starting around Tuesday, Nov. 10.

As of this weekend, wind gusts as high was 34 mph are predicted to impact the region Friday afternoon, increasing in strength by Saturday night to up to 50 mph wind gusts. Average wind speeds Saturday are expected to range from 20 to 35 mph.

The NWS says we may see a respite from the rain Sunday night, with a low in the upper-30s.

As for that atmospheric river, the NWS does not have updated details on expected rainfall amounts or snowfall elevation predictions.