Pacific Northwest Battered Again

A couple people being rescued from atop a submerged
truck in Washington State this past week. 

 For the past year, it seems like the Pacific Northwest has been a particular target of Ma Nature's ire, boosted much of the time by climate change.  

The same region was just battered again with deep snow, flooding, coastal flooding and landslides.  At least one person has died in the storms.  

Another atmospheric river, a relatively narrow channel of wet air in the atmosphere, is once again to blame. Other atmospheric rivers have caused extensive damage in the late fall in winter across much of British Columbia, Canada and in Washington State.

As noted in a previous post, the storminess buried the city of Wanatchee, Washington beneath two feet of snow. Interstate I-90 was still closed as of this morning up in the Cascades, stranding a number of people with dwindling supplies of food and gasoline. 

The town of Leavenworth, near Steven's Pass was under a state of emergency as three feet of snow fell there. In many towns that received heavy snow, precipitation changed to rain. The combined weight of snow and water that soaked into it was beginning to collapse roofs. 

Landslides are also an issue. Dramatic video from television station KING 5 showed firefighters rescuing a man from a basement as the house he was in slid down a hill and a propane tank burned close by.  The man is going to be OK, a woman in the house escaped on her own, but two dogs died. 

Meanwhile, lowland flooding got pretty widespread again. Several neighborhoods and roads have flooded, prompting evacuations. At least two people had to be rescued from atop an almost entirely submerged pickup truck. 

Parts of two Interstate highways, I-90 and I-5 were closed either due to flooding, snow or avalanches.  At last report Sunday morning, Interstate 5 was reopening and Interstate 90 through Snoqualmie Pass was expected to open later today. 

Along Washington's Pacific coast, seasonal king tides combined with the weather pattern pushed storm surges and battering waves .

Crashing waves and high tides also damaged buildings, sea walls and parks in and around Vancouver, British Columbia. 

Precipitation finally tapered off Saturday.   The weather will remain seasonably rainy for the upcoming week in western Washington, but it won't be heavy enough to worsen flooding. 

Videos: 

News report on man rescued as house slid down slope during a mudslide in Seattle. Click on this hyperlink if you can't see video in this post: 

Another news report, this one dealing with flooding, and the dangers of rain-soaked snow on roofs in Washington State. Click on this link or view below: