Flooding Expected To Continue In Washington, Expand To Oregon

The flooding across Washington has been one for the record books in many communities.  USDA meteorologist Brad Rippey noted while much of the damage has been west of the Cascades, eastern and central Washington have not been spared.

“But there hasn't been enough moisture spilling across the Cascade Divide," Rippey said.  "We've also seen flooding on the other side of the Cascades. So, for example, some significant flooding along the Yakima River, which comes out of the Cascades but then heads east from there. 

"A lot of the Peak crests occurred on December 10th or 11th, and we did see those record crests in several waterways, including portions of the Snohomish, Snoqualmie, and Cedar Rivers, just to name a few," Rippey continued.  "The Snohomish River at the community of Snohomish crested over nine feet above flood stage on December 11th, and that surpassed the late November 1990 high-water mark by a little less than a foot. A tributary of the Snohomish, the Middle Fork of the Snoqualmie River, had crested a day earlier near Tanner, WA. That broke a record from November 2006.”

Additional Rain Expected For Washington Wednesday, Thursday

Rippey noted the atmospheric river doesn’t appear to be done with the Northwest.

“We're seeing another series of events moving into Washington state this week," he said.  "We could see another 4"-10"+ rainfall totals on the Cascades and points westward that may aggravate some of the flood concerns.”

Oregon Could Be Next

And then a slight shift in the jet stream is expected to move those atmospheric river events southward as we head towards the weekend.

“So we will have to watch for the expansion of the significant flood threat into parts of Oregon, mainly from the Cascades westward as we move through the remainder of this week," Rippey said.  "And Washington, we could see some 4"-10"+ rainfall totals in Oregon as we move through the next several days.”

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