Crews conduct high-water rescues in Washington, and flood watches put in effect along coast down to Oregon
A series of powerful storms hit the Pacific north-west, dumping heavy rain, swelling rivers, closing roads and prompting high-water rescues in several states.
An unusually strong storm system called an atmospheric river is passing through the region, bringing heavy rainfall across western Washington and north-western Oregon and more than a foot of snow in the northern Rockies and north-western Wyoming.
Residents grappled with power outages, flooding and school closures, while drivers navigated debris slides and water that closed roads and submerged vehicles.
Fire officials north-east of Seattle said crews conducted several rescues, using inflatable kayaks to pull people from stranded cars and carrying another person about a mile (1.6km) to safety after they were trapped in a wooded area by rising water.
Forecasters warned that the worst was still to come, with some major rivers expected to crest later in the week.
“We’re starting to see a lot of rivers begin to rise and move very rapidly with lots of runoff with the rain,” said Harrison Rademacher, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Seattle office.
Rademacher described the atmospheric river soaking the region as “a jet stream of moisture” stretching all the way across the Pacific Ocean “with the nozzle pushing right along the coast of Oregon and Washington”.
Another storm system is expected to bring rain to the region starting Sunday, Rademacher said. “The pattern looks pretty unsettled going up to the holidays,” he said.
Further north, an arctic blast is affecting parts of south-east Alaska, with wind chills possibly hitting as low as -50F (-45.6C) in Skagway, -25F (-31.6C) in Haines and -15F (-26C) in Alaska’s capital city, Juneau, according to the National Weather Service.
Meanwhile, a fast-moving storm moving eastward across the upper midwest was forecast to bring a range of wintry weather there too, including freezing rain, high winds and heavy snow.
“This is definitely one of those messy winter weather events that we’re going to be having come through, depending on where you are in the northern plains here,” said Ryan Dunleavy, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Minnesota’s Twin Cities.
North Dakota was experiencing rain and freezing rain, and much of the state was under a no-travel advisory due to freezing rain and slippery roads. Some schools closed or moved to virtual lessons due to the weather conditions.
Most of Montana and the Dakotas were under a high wind warning.
Wintry weather was also expected to affect the evening commute in Minnesota and north-west Wisconsin, while parts of central and northern Minnesota and north-west Wisconsin could expect heavy snow.
