The rain has finally stopped in flood-stricken Washington state and the Pacific Northwest, but the region can’t catch a breather. More heavy rain will fall from the new atmospheric river next week.
The river is dangerously rising after days of powerful atmospheric river deluge caused historic flooding, forcing tens of thousands of people to evacuate and dozens of people performing water rescues.
Some people were rescued from rapidly rising floodwaters by helicopter, while others were brought to safety by boat from the top of their homes or cars.
Floodwaters were waist deep in many places, but some of the worst-hit areas, like Sumas, Washington, were more than 15 feet deep, and the Coast Guard rescued dozens of people.
On Friday, the danger skyrocketed in Burlington, Washington, where floodwaters flooded homes. A citywide evacuation order was issued in the early morning hours, with National Guard troops going door-to-door to notify residents, but it was partially lifted several hours later.
Although the upcoming atmospheric rivers will not be as strong as this week, the risk of flooding could rise again and cleanup efforts will be complicated. Wet ground has a harder time absorbing heavy rain, so flash flooding and river surges are more likely when new rain falls.
There will be some light rain over Western Washington on Sunday, but that will be just the appetizer for an atmospheric river that will flow into the region early Monday morning.
Washington state will bear the brunt of the heaviest rain on Monday, but some downpours could also move further south into western Oregon as the day progresses. This atmospheric river is predicted to be at least a level 4/5 or “strong” event for these states.
“Given the current moderate to severe flooding, continued rain over several days next week could lead to further significant impacts,” the Weather Prediction Center warned on Thursday.
Much of western Washington was already under a flood-precipitation risk level of 2/4 on Monday, with western Oregon and far northwestern California at a risk level of 1/4, according to the WPC.
Rivers in the region, including parts of the Snohomish and Skagit rivers, which dropped over the weekend, could quickly rise and return to dangerous levels as the rains arrive. Both have entered their highest flood stage, reaching historic levels on Thursday, breaking records last set in 1990.
Wet weather eases a bit in the Pacific Northwest early Tuesday morning, but another river-borne storm arrives later in the day and will continue into Wednesday. The storm is expected to be more widespread than Monday, bringing rain potential from Washington state to much of Northern California.
Some of the higher elevation snow from this storm will fall in parts of the Cascade Mountains and the northern Rocky Mountains to the east.
The hits just keep coming. More storms are possible late next week. While predictions far into the future are still in focus, no one in the Pacific Northwest and Northern California can let their guard down.
