SEATTLE — The first windstorms of fall don’t have to be the the strongest of the year to do the most damage.

At this time of year, when the trees are still quite leafy and some branches have naturally weakened during the dry, hot summer months, it doesn’t take much of a gust to knock down a branch or two.

This is why early fall storms are nicknamed “Mother Nature’s tree cutters.”

A tight, compact low will pass quickly past western Washington overnight. So we will go from pleasant, dry and a little windy weather today to winds gusting to 45 mph in places overnight. Rain will also develop.

A wind advisory is in effect Friday through Saturday morning for the North Shore, Admiralty Inlet area and San Juan County. These are the areas that face the highest risk of power outages and damage to tree branches overnight, particularly in the south-facing parts of these islands.

Gale warnings are in effect this evening for hazardous seas for the waters of the eastern entrance to the Strait of Juan De Fuca, Admiralty Inlet and Pacific coastal waters.

Some forecast models even project gusts of 50 to 60 mph near Friday Harbor and Oak Harbor. Damaged trees and downed power lines will likely occur after dark Friday and early Saturday morning.

From Mukilteo south toward Olympia, lighter winds of 20 to 35 mph are more possible, but a stray gust of 40 to 45 mph is possible.

Gale warnings are in effect this evening for hazardous seas for the waters of the eastern entrance to the Strait of Juan De Fuca and Admiralty Inlet and coastal waters of the Pacific.

Friday evening, winds are expected to begin picking up around The Sound by midnight and will be strongest until 7 a.m. Saturday. Gusts on some islands can reach near 60 mph, with wind showers blowing through.

Winds decrease throughout the day Saturday with intermittent showers continuing through Sunday and diminishing Monday. Rainfall accumulations of 1″ are possible through the weekend in the lowlands, with 3″ possible in the mountains.