It is, perhaps, a small solace if you lost power and are sitting in the dark, unable to cook a meal or crank up the heat: At least you can see how many people are in the same boat.
Local electricity providers -- both public and private utilities -- give detailed and easily accessible information during storms on how many people lost power, where and when they might, maybe, get it back. That's how we know that half a million households lost power this week and about 160,000 remain without power as of Friday afternoon.
That's not the case with internet service providers, who are less regulated than electric utilities. Tens of thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands, of people across Western Washington remain without internet service after this week's windstorm, but it is impossible to know how many.
Xfinity Comcast, Lumen and Verizon, three of the largest local internet providers, all refused Friday to say how many of their customers lost service this week and how many remained without service.
"We do not disclose specific numbers," Andy Colley, a Comcast spokesperson, wrote in an email. He said more than 60% of the (undisclosed number of) customers who lost service have had it restored.
Internet, obviously, requires electricity, so the number of customers "who lost service is directly related to the number of customers who lost power," Colley wrote. "In some situations, customers may have power back but not Comcast Services because the electricity supply that powers our network has not been restored."
Comcast said it had repaired and restored service in parts of Bainbridge Island, Bellevue, Bellingham, Bonney Lake, Marysville, Puyallup, Roy, Seattle, Squamish and Woodinville. The company said it was waiting for clearance from utility providers Friday before it began repairs in Arlington, Auburn, Bellevue, Bothell, Enumclaw, Everett, Kingston, Snohomish, Tacoma and Woodinville.
Mark Molzen, a Lumen spokesperson, said he didn't know how many customers lost service or remained without service. Pressed on if somebody at the company knew, Molzen wrote: "I'd rather have our technicians focus on making repairs than running down numbers. Appreciate you understanding."
"Some customers in Washington are experiencing service disruptions. Our technicians are working hard to restore services," Molzen wrote.
Lauren Peterson, a Verizon spokesperson, also did not say how many customers had lost service, but said 96% of them have had service restored. Issaquah and Sammamish are the areas where they still have the most work left to do, Peterson said.
Seattle, Bellevue, Bothell, Kent, Snoqualmie Pass, Woodinville, and the San Juans have had service fully restored, Peterson said. Customers in Redmond, Covington, Maple Valley, Renton, Kirkland, Mercer Island and Snohomish have been restored, but may have slower internet speeds, she said.
There is ample evidence that thousands remain without internet.
The King County Library System, which saw some libraries close the day after the storm, has seen people come storming back as its branches reopened, looking for both electricity and internet they may not have at home.
"Libraries have been filled with community members looking for warmth, WiFi, and power," the library system wrote on social media Friday. The Bellevue Library, on Thursday evening, saw a surge in internet usage about five times higher than its normal rates.
The contrast with the electricity providers is stark.
Puget Sound Energy, Seattle City Light and the Snohomish County Public Utility District all give detailed, easily available maps showing where and how large outages are.
As of 2 p.m. Friday: Puget Sound Energy had 155,654 customers without power, Seattle City Light had 2,880 and Snohomish County PUD had 11,365.
The three internet providers have outage maps as well, but they are essentially inaccessible to the general public.
Verizon and Lumen require you to be a subscriber to view outage maps. Xfinity Comcast will show outages only for specific neighborhoods -- type in an exact address, and they'll tell you if there's an outage there -- but makes it impossible to see what's going on in the broader region.