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Written by: Karina Tsui, Robert Shackelford and Mary Gilbert, CNN

(CNN) — A “once-in-a-decade” bomb cyclone hit the northwestern United States and parts of Canada with hurricane-force winds early Wednesday; At least one person died and hundreds of thousands were without power in Washington state, California and British Columbia.

In Seattle and neighboring cities, strong winds are knocking down trees, some falling on homes and putting lives at risk.

The South County Fire Department told CNN that a woman in her 50s died when a large tree fell on a homeless camp in Lynnwood, north of Seattle, shortly after 7 p.m.

More than 650,000 customers were without power in Washington early Wednesday, while approximately 140,000 customers were without power in British Columbia, according to BC Hydro’s website. As of midnight PT, more than 24,000 customers were without power in California.

The National Weather Service reported significant winds across the region, including off the coast of British Columbia, where winds gusted to 101 mph at the South Brooks Buoy.

Winds of 72 to 77 mph were recorded in Washington state, including at Cape Elizabeth on the Olympic Peninsula and at Crystal Mountain and Sunrise-Mount Rainier southeast of Seattle.

“The weather is very severe outside. The fire department in Bellevue, east of Seattle, posted a Severe Weather Safety alert on Facebook. “If possible, go to the lowest floor possible and stay away from windows. Do not go outside if you can.”

Videos obtained by CNN show multiple trees down on power lines in Lake Stevens, Snohomish County, north of Seattle, with Snohomish Regional Fire and Rescue saying “numerous trees and power lines were downed.”

Two people were rescued after a tree fell on their caravan in Maple Valley, southeast of Seattle, Puget Sound Fire reported. While one patient was quickly rescued, it took firefighters an hour to save the second. Both patients were transported to a nearby hospital.

An Amtrak train crashed into a fallen tree near an intersection in Stanwood, north of Seattle, Tuesday night. CNN affiliate KIRO. The incident rendered the train inoperable, but none of the 47 passengers on board were injured, KIRO reported. CNN has reached out to Amtrak for more information.

Many school districts in Western Washington will be closed or postponed Wednesday due to the impact of the storm.

“Due to widespread power outages, downed trees, and high winds in some areas, all school buildings will be closed on Wednesday, November 20, and all after-school activities have been canceled,” said the Eatonville School District, 60 miles south of Seattle. , shared on social media.

Winds of 30 to 50 mph in western Oregon were reported to gust to more than 70 mph along the coast and offshore late Tuesday. Offshore winds in Northern California reached 60 mph, with high peaks in Humboldt reaching 80 mph.

‘Bombogenesis’

Strong “bomb cyclone” will combine with an atmospheric river to dump more than a month of rain, hurricane-force winds and mountain snow into parts of the Pacific Northwest and Northern California.

The storm system quickly intensified An event called “bomb formation” occurred on Tuesday, earning it the nickname “bomb cyclone”. The National Weather Service in Medford, Oregon, said it was one of the most intense storms on record for its location and is a storm that only occurs “about once every ten years.”

Bomb cyclones are awesome and empty heavy snow and strong winds during the winter months.

This bomb cyclone will work an atmospheric riverA tall cloud of water vapor that moves through the atmosphere like a river to squeeze out heavy rainfall in the Pacific Northwest and Northern California and significant snowfall in the mountains. The pair will linger along the coast and wreak havoc throughout the week and into the weekend, with dangerous conditions dominating the area.

Parts of northwestern California could record 16 inches or more of rain in 48 hours. More than a month of rain is expected in the northern San Francisco Bay area, especially north of the Golden Gate Bridge, the weather service said. Rainfall of this magnitude is expected to cause significant urban flooding, road debris flows and river floods.

The heaviest precipitation is expected to begin Wednesday and peak in northwestern California on Thursday. According to WPC, the risk of floods is at 3/4 level on Wednesday, and there is a rare high risk of 4/4 on Thursday.

It’s hard to overstate how big of a deal these high stakes are. On average they are held on less than 4% of the days of the year, but are responsible for for more than 80% of all flood-related damage and 40% of all flood-related deathsResearch from WPC shows.

3 to 6 inches of rain could fall on Wednesday, with some spots reaching up to 8 inches. Thursday’s precipitation could meet or exceed Wednesday’s precipitation totals, especially in high-risk areas.

Heavy snowfall is expected in high altitude regions where winter weather warnings are issued. Blizzard warnings are in effect for parts of the Washington Cascades with up to a foot of snow and high winds Speeds up to 60 mph are possible through Wednesday morning.

“Travelling can be very difficult or even impossible. Strong winds can cause significant damage to trees and power lines,” warned the National Weather Service office in Seattle.

1 to 4 feet of snow is possible in the Cascades and northern Sierra Nevada by Wednesday. Snowfall could create impossible travel conditions on Interstate 5 and highways 31, 36, 66, 89, 97 and 140.

Strong winds peaked across much of the Pacific Northwest on Tuesday as the bomb cyclone began to weaken, but conditions will remain harsh across the region on Wednesday.

Conditions will begin to improve from the weekend, but lighter rains may continue into next week.

CNN’s Isaac Yee and Hanna Park contributed to this report.

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