Hurricane force winds and heavy rains battered Oregon's coast of a second day Monday, prompting Gov. Ted Kulongoski to declare a state of emergency. In Washington, Gov. Christine Gregoire also declared a statewide emergency.

"My priority is to ensure the safety of Oregonians by providing whatever resources they need to stay warm and dry and protect their property," Kulongoski said.

The storm caused flooding, power outages, mudslides and forced some evacuations. Roads were closed in Oregon and Washington, including a stretch of Interstate 5 in the Chehalis and Centralia area, preventing travel between Seattle and Portland. Communications were also out or spotty in many areas, including Astoria, Newport and Lincoln City.

The storm was blamed for at least three deaths.

Several evacuation centers were opened throughout Oregon and Washington.

Winds gusts of more than 100 mph were reported along the Oregon coast, the strongest 129 mph at Bay City. Lincoln City reported 125mph and Cape Meares recorded winds of 114 mph.

Nearly a foot of rain fell on Lee's Camp in Oregon. The heavy rains also pushed rivers in Washington over flood stage. Flood warnings and watches were posted for rivers throughout western Washington. Bremerton, Wash., was soaked with more than 12 inches of rain from Sunday night to Monday night, the National Weather Service reported.

The storm kicked up waves of 40 feet along the Washington and Oregon coast. The heavy surf was expected Tuesday to extend all the way into Southern California.

Some 40,000 customers of Pacific Power were reported without power in Oregon. Another 72,000 Bonneville Power Administration customers, primarily in the Washington counties of Clallam, Grays Harbor, Mason and Pacific, were without power, according to state officials.

The storm – the first wave of which struck the Northwest on Sunday – was expected to move into the Midwest, which was hit by a winter storm over the weekend. That storm then moved into the Northeast and was blamed for at least 15 deaths. Northern New England was forecast to receive more than a foot of snow through Tuesday. Stannard, Vt., already recorded more than 11 inches of snow as of Monday afternoon.