Weather & Climate

Dec. 20 (UPI) — A flood watch is in effect in the greater Portland area and large portions of western Oregon and southwestern Washington as rainy conditions continue.

The National Weather Service issued the flood watch on Saturday morning, which is in effect until 4 p.m. PST and follows a week of heavy rainfall, Oregon Live reported.

Local flooding is likeliest in urban areas and in locations with relatively little water drainage, and the day’s forecast calls for an 80% chance of rainfall during the morning hours.

The Sandy and Clackamas rivers are especially vulnerable to flooding, and at least one person has died as many roads in western Oregon became covered by landslides and other weather-related damage, according to OPB.

“The Clackamas River in the last 24 hours, we’ve been seeing 3 to 4 inches [of rain] and in some cases even higher amounts southeast of Estacada,” NWS meteorologist Sebastian Westerink told OPB on Friday.

“Those amounts are certainly contributing to the rapid rise of the river,” he added.

Despite the continued rainy weather, most local evacuation orders were lifted on Friday in areas along and near the Clackamas River, KATU reported.

The river set a new record when it crested at 26.25 feet during the early morning hours on Friday. The prior record was 25.52 feet in 1972.

The rainy weather likely will continue through Sunday as a cool and moist airmass covers much of the region.

Hundreds of local residents have evacuated the area, and some flood waters have started to recede but many bodies of water will remain higher than normal into Sunday, NWS forecasters said.

Some, though, took advantage of rare whitewater kayaking opportunities afforded by the week’s weather.

Many traveled to Gladstone’s High Rocks Park, where local waters were flowing at a very high rate on Friday and could continue doing so through the weekend.

Dec. 16 (UPI) — Officials are warning that conditions could worsen parts of Washington state already reeling from deadly flash flooding as a blizzard conditions approach amid evacuations and warnings of further flooding.

At least one person has been reported dead after the body of a 33-year-old male was recovered from a vehicle that was completely submerged in water at 1:30 a.m. PST on Tuesday in Snohomish County, ABC News reported.

“The vehicle left the roadway and entered a lower farmland/ditch area containing approximately 6 feet of water,” officials with Snohomish County Fire District 4 said in a prepared statement.

“Upon arrival, deputies located the vehicle in the water,” they said. “Fire rescue swimmers made contact with the vehicle and removed the driver from the car.”

The motorist had driven past road closure signs warning drivers of localized flooding and was pronounced dead at the scene after first responders attempted lifesaving treatment.

Two levees were breached as strong rainstorms passed through the Pacific Northwest in recent days. Weather conditions are now expected to take a turn for the worse.

The National Weather Service has issued wind and blizzard warnings in the same areas impacted by flash flooding.

Heavy rainfall is predicted to continue into Tuesday night before changing to snow after 1 a.m. on Wednesday.

Outdoor temperatures are expected to fall to 24 degrees, with a west wind of 28 mph creating a wind chill of between 7 and 17 degrees, according to the NWS.

Snow could be heavy at times on Wednesday and Thursday, with between 8 and 12 inches possible by Wednesday night and wind gusts of up to 49 mph on Wednesday. That’s on top of possibly between 4 and 8 inches of snowfall on Thursday and wind gusts of up to 31 mph.

Snow is expected through the next seven days, with lows in the low 20s and highs near 32 degrees.

The wind and blizzard warnings come as major flooding is possible on Wednesday morning along the Skagit River and potentially cresting on Thursday morning in Mount Vernon, the Seattle Times reported.

An estimated 2,100 residents of Pacific in the state’s King County are subject to an evacuation warning telling them to leave now due to a levee failure on the White River.

Highway 2 also could stay closed until further notice, while Highway 167 remained closed between Auburn and Kent, two small cities south of Seattle, on Tuesday morning.