Editor’s note: Click here to hear the sounds of the windstorm. Recordings were made at 6, 9 and 11 p.m. on the bluff above Scatchet Head; listen to the wind pick up in intensity and the sound of breaking trees before the gusts die away and the hum of generators takes over.

A wind storm and an arctic blast created havoc this week for South End residents as they were battered by yet more winter weather.

On Tuesday, high winds with gusts of 62 mph swept the island. The high winds knocked the power out in Oak Harbor, Coupeville and the Brooks Hill Road area of the South End Tuesday afternoon.

While the power later came back on, it didn’t last: The outage returned, and spread across the entire South End by dinner time.

According to Dorothy Bracken, spokeswoman for Puget Sound Energy, Whidbey Island again bore the brunt of this latest windstorm.

“We had about 30,000 customers without power and Whidbey Island represented one-half of them. This storm was not as damaging as the wind storm on Dec. 14 that destroyed one-half of our system,” she said.

“Crews worked through the night,” Bracken added.

South Whidbey residents weren’t the only ones relieved when the power came back on.

Bracken said when the lights came up on the automated map of Whidbey Island in their office about 4 a.m. Wednesday, “we all cheered when Whidbey Island went up.”

An earlier windstorm hit the South End late Friday and early Saturday.

After the latest high winds on Tuesday night, Whidbey Island was hit with more inclement weather Wednesday when a snowstorm hit the island. The snow piled up the deepest in Coupeville, but the South End was also dusted and some roads became slick and treacherous.

Residents are growing increasingly weary of the power outages and the damage to homes and vehicles from falling trees.

Icy road conditions this week also contributed to a number of minor traffic accidents.

Many are still cleaning up debris from the weekend windstorm.

A Freeland woman escaped injury when a huge Douglas fir toppled over during Friday’s storm. The huge tree cracked a wall in her bedroom.

Margaret Surnes said she was surprised when she took her small dog outdoors Saturday morning to find the huge evergreen on the roof of her home, above a corner of her bedroom.

“I didn’t hear a thing,” she said.

Getting the tree removed has led to more problems.

“Contractors have come and looked at it, but nothing has been done yet. They just look at it and leave a business card,” Surnes said.

“I know they are very busy now, but I won’t be able to use my fireplace until may roof is repaired,” she added.

Central and north Whidbey Island and all of Camano Island were blanketed with at least 3 inches of snow by 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday. While not as much snow fell on the South End, cold temperatures made driving hazardous. Numerous accidents were reported as cars slid into ditches and each other.

Lt. Evan Tingstead of the South Precinct of the Island County Sheriff’s Office said several accidents, including a three-car collision on Highway 525 near Double Bluff Road, occurred just as heavy snow started to fall.

“Temperatures dropped and roads were icy,” he said.

“Since then, we have had 18 car accidents on the South End. A lot of those involved multiple cars,” Tingsted said.

“They were probably a dozen more accidents that weren’t reported,” he said.

Schools officials weren’t taking any chances. South Whidbey schools started late on Thursday and Friday with limited bus transportation due to the icy roads.

“We delayed school two hours Thursday and Friday so that there would be some melting,” said Veronica Schmidt, the district’s transportation supervisor.

Freezing temperatures left most neighborhood streets covered in ice, making for difficult conditions for bus drivers.

A warming trend is expected to begin Sunday.