Another Major Storm System Targets the Pacific Northwest

A new week simply means a new round of torrential rain and high winds for the Pacific Northwest. Meanwhile, the southwestern corner of the region will be experiencing near-record-high temperatures. Here is a look at what the forecast for the western U.S. has in store this week.

New Round of Moisture Taking Aim at the Northwest to Start the Week

The Pacific Northwest will be under a fresh wave of moisture to start the new work week thanks to a stubborn atmospheric river parked over the region. In addition to heavy rain, the weather pattern will feature high winds and snow for the higher terrains. The persistent infusion of moisture will raise the threat of mudslides and avalanches.

The atmospheric river that delivered heavy rain to the Northwest over the weekend is pushing to the east early in the week, bringing the moisture to parts of Idaho and Montana. However, another storm has already arrived in the Northwest to continue the pattern of significant moisture and windy conditions.

It may be difficult to find the break between the weekend storm system and the early week event. It was a particularly rainy weekend for the coastline of Washington and Oregon. Parts of this stretch of coastline measured more rain over the weekend than it typically sees in an entire month. This part of the region picked up rainfall amounts of 2 to 3 inches on Saturday and Sunday as the atmospheric river parked itself over the coast. Some of the heaviest-hit locations had already picked up 4 inches of rain by Sunday morning.

The latest weather maker intensified quickly just off the coast before moving inland by the end of the weekend. Forecasters are predicting that total rainfall amounts from the parade of storms will range between 3 and 8 inches in the lower elevations and over 16 inches in the higher terrains. The threat of flooding will persist for days as a result of the torrent of rain and resulting river runoff.

Forecasters are also warning that the rain over the mountains will create the risk of avalanches. Snow levels rose throughout the weekend as warmer air moved ashore. While this was good news for motorists who only had to deal with rain rather than snow over the mountain passes, the heavy rain falling on the existing snowpack also worked to present concerns of avalanches. Hikers and backcountry skiers were being advised to exercise caution when spending time in remote mountain areas.