Mother Nature did not wait long to strike again as gale-force winds and tidal flooding struck Port Orchard in the days following Christmas.

The city had just finished weathering its second major snowstorm of the season, accompanied with freezing rain that left several roads impassable and some residents without power. While the possibility of a White Christmas was quickly washed away by rain, it gave drivers a chance to relax over the holiday weekend.

But that quickly went away after high winds began to batter trees and power lines Dec. 26. As rain continued to pour, gusts of up to 30 mph and rain-saturated soil caused branches and trees to fall and cover roads. Tree limbs also caused damage to a number of power lines. Puget Sound Energy reported over 25,000 customers county-wide lost power.

The wind and rain, paired with King Tides, caused flooding Dec. 27 in Port Orchard, leaving some residents with water at their front doors. A resident who lives off Yukon Harbor Drive said the road was completely covered in a foot of water at the tide’s peak.

Meanwhile, downtown, a large portion of Bay Street was closed while city crews cleared water and redirected traffic. Sandbags could be seen outside some businesses, including Dudes Donuts, which had water right at its doorstep just weeks after opening.

A few cars could be seen driving the water-covered roads, despite warnings not to and blockades put up by city officials. One vehicle was seen in the ditch off Bay Street facing the wrong way after its driver attempted to go through and crashed.

PSE spokesman Gerald Tracy said while specific statistics were not available, just under 50,000 outages occurred between the two weather events. Early afternoon Dec. 27 298 were still without power. “So 99% have been restored.”

However, “(the) wind storm, along with heavy rain and snowmelt from the past week, has the potential to really slow down our restoration efforts,” he said.

Also, “the ground is rain-saturated, so we’re keeping an eye out for that and just letting our customers know to be aware and be prepared because there could be additional outages that pop up.” Tracy said safety is key for PSE. “If it’s unsafe, they’ll have to pull it down and kind of hold off on work until it becomes safe again.”

Signs on the road warn drivers of upcoming water and road closures.

Signs on the road warn drivers of upcoming water and road closures.

Signs on the road warn drivers of upcoming water and road closures.