A storm fueled by an atmospheric river is pounding the Pacific Northwest, bringing flooding rain, heavy snow at high elevations, and hurricane-strength winds. The storm's strong winds left more than half a million without power early Wednesday.
KPTV Chief Meteorologist Mark Nelsen warned his Facebook followers of the strong winds expected to slam the Portland area early Wednesday morning. "Power outages rapidly climbing in metro, valley, and SW Washington," he cautioned. "Expect an hour or so of strong gusts, then calming."
His followers responded quickly. "Just lost power 20 minutes ago here by uptown," one Facebook user commented. "Seems to go on for blocks and blocks!"
Another follower reported that a transformer blew in Fern Prairie: "Caught tree on fire. Lines in road. Road is a mess with big branches down. Be careful if you drive out there! Fire Department puts cones in road around lines."
The storm produced hurricane-strength winds in some Washington mountain passes, including gusts of 112 mph at Alpental, 99 mph at White Pass, and 82 mph at Snoqualmie Pass, according to the Seattle National Weather Service Office.
High wind warnings continued early Wednesday for more than 12 million people across portions of at least 16 states from the West Coast to as far east as Minnesota and Iowa. Much of Washington was still bracing for wind gusts of up to 75 mph.
A high wind warning issued by the Spokane National Weather Service Office said: "Damaging winds will blow down trees and power lines. Widespread power outages are expected. Travel will be difficult, especially for high profile vehicles."
Flash flood watches continued early Wednesday for nearly 10 million people in the U.S., with the vast majority in Washington and Oregon. Flood alerts extended as far south as Northern California. Some of the heavier 24-hour rainfall totals ending early Wednesday in California included 5.87 inches in Whitethorn, 4.8 inches in Honeydew, and 4.55 inches in Westport.
Swollen rivers have spilled their banks near Seattle. Two levees were breached in King County, Washington, just east of the city, according to AccuWeather, per USA Today. A flood watch for western Washington cautioned that another 1 to 2 inches of rain could fall Wednesday raising the risk of landslides and debris flows.
Scientists say our warming world is supercharging atmospheric rivers. "Atmospheric rivers (ARs) are narrow, elongated regions of intense atmospheric moisture transport that are responsible for a large proportion of midlatitude extreme precipitation," the authors of a study published in March said. "Projections show that ARs will intensify due to warmer air's ability to hold more moisture. We find that ARs have already become more frequent, larger, and moister during the 1980-2023 time frame."
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Not at all 🙅 More power outages are possible on Thursday as another round of windy, wet weather is expected to hit. Over 5 million people across portions of Washington, Oregon, and California face marginal to slight risk — levels 1 and 2 out of 4, respectively — for excessive rainfall capable of producing flash flooding tomorrow, according to the Weather Prediction Center. A high wind watch has been issued for several western states through Friday morning.
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