Catastrophe risk modeling company AIR Worldwide Corporationestimates insured losses from last week's Pacific Northwest winterstorm could exceed $500 million.

Wind gusts of more than 90 mph were widely reported acrossOregon and Washington, and heavy precipitation caused localizedflash flooding in western Washington and blizzard conditions in theeastern part of the state, AIR said.

"This was the worst wind storm to strike the Pacific Northwestsince the 1993 Inauguration Day storm," said Peter Dailey, directorof atmospheric science for research and modeling at AIRWorldwide.

Mr. Dailey said, "The wind speeds observed from last week'sstorm were similar or a bit higher than those of the 1993 storm,but were more widespread, extending south to Oregon and east toMontana, so total damage is likely to be higher."

The Pacific Northwest winter storm struck late last week,causing damage to roofs, cladding and windows. More significantstructural damage occurred as a result of downed trees and utilitypoles. On Saturday, Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire declared astate of emergency. More than a quarter of a million remainedwithout power as of late Sunday.

Using its U.S. Winter Storm model, the AIR estimate includesinsured losses from damage due to wind, precipitation and coldtemperatures.

Like most winter storms in the Pacific Northwest, damage fromthe Dec. 14th to 15th event was caused primarily by wind. Heavysnow and the coldest temperatures were confined to the interiormountainous regions with lower property exposure.

National Underwriter reported yesterday that insurers are justgetting preliminary information about losses. Insurance ServicesOffice Inc.'s Property Claim Service also designated the storm acatastrophe, meaning insurance losses in excess of $25 million.