Posted on 01/07/2009 7:51:30 PM PST by Squidpup
A major winter storm that has tapped into sub-tropical moisture, continues to send wave after wave of rain into the Pacific Northwest, triggering landslides, shutting highways and sending rivers over their banks. A 20-mile stretch of Interstate 5 was closed in both directions just before 6 p.m. tonight.
MORE NEWS • Landslides block Washington highway
• Vernonia watches flood gauges, ponders fate of new gym floor
• Storms hit Washington state, bringing flooding, avalanches and mudslides
• Heavy rains could flood swollen Johnson Creek
• Small slides, flooding hit coast
The interstate was closed at milepost 68 at the eastbound exit of U.S. 12 to milepost 88, north of Centralia, said Annie Linstrom, a Washington Dept. of Transportation Department spokeswoman.
Those are the same mileposts used when the interstate last closed, in December 2007.
At that time, officials were able to reroute traffic onto nearby county roads and keep traffic moving, however slowly.
This time, however, officials do not have that option, Linstrom said.
"We are trying to route people out of there, but we no longer have detours," Linstrom said. "There are no detours in place. At this point, it's just a mess."
The heavy rain pounding Southwest Washington for the past 18 hours is slowly but surely moving into Northwest Oregon, where swollen rivers are already rising due to rapid snowmelt.
"It's definitely not over for us,'' said Tyree Wilde, the warning coordination meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Portland. "Be patient -- there is more to come." The main concern right now, Wilde said, are rivers on the Southwest Washington coast, where the Willapa, Naselle and Grays rivers are already at major flood stage and still rising.
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(Excerpt) Read more at oregonlive.com ...
LOL. LOL !
http://www.komonews.com/news/37203969.html
26,000 Urged to evac the Orting Valley for fear of their lives.
Record flooding, beyond that seen LAST year.
Wash really getting slammed snow/floods.
We are honkered down hee on the oregon coast (hurricane force winds/rain tonight)
From what I just heard on Northwest Cable News, there is currently no way to drive from here to Seattle other than to drive north to B.C., then west to I-5, then south to Seattle, or go all the way to the coast then north. This is the first time I ever remember all mountain passes being closed along with I-5.
An avalanche took out part of Snoqualmie Pass ski area, and there is a big ribbon of mud where there would normally be pristine white snow. Flooding in the lowlands is at historically high levels in some areas including across I-5.
We had little rain here but my neighbor lost the roof over patio due to high winds; a gust took the complete metal roof along with the supporting structure and the deck railings over the top of the house and put it down two lots away. I slept through the whole thing!
I am in southeast WA.
Yep. I’m in Tacoma, and been raining buckets all afternoon. Local weather-people are saying it’s not going to let up until tomorrow.
It’s just nasty out there.
Lights have been flickering slightly last couple hours here (N. Oregon coast.) The ground is so saturated I expect some trees to blow over on power lines. My computer is on a battery system so I have enough time to finish up here tonight.
N. Coast Oregon has been getting Huge amounts of rain.
We are a spinkle zone compared to yall.
I pray the folks in Vernonia make out ok.
They are taking every pre flood precation possible so as not to have a repeat of last year.
Hope you keep the lights on and flood waters at bay.
Tillamook area IIRC has those low floodable areas where as here on the Central Coast we are up above flood areas with the exception of the Siletz/Alsea (not in our living zone thank God)
Weatherman is calling for a nice sunny break this week end. : )
You pretty much covered it.
Big mess.
And Amtrak is now down.
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