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SEATTLE | January 20, 2012 More than 280,000 electric customers, most of whom are customers of Puget Sound Energy around the Seattle, Tacoma and Olympia areas, are without power because of a winter storm that blanketed a good portion of Washington state with snow and ice. The winter storm also swelled Oregon's rivers and killed three people. Officials from Puget Sound Energy made a statement that it could take into the weekend or even later to have power back on for everyone. The National Weather Service states that warm temperatures Friday should melt the snow and ice in Western Washington's lowland areas as their forecast predicts rain into the following week. Forecasters, however, predict that melting snow could cause urban flooding and fill the Skokomish and Chehalis rivers above flood stage by Saturday night. As rain is forecast early during the week it could make flooding a focal point according to a report from the Associated Press.