PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - A "Pineapple Express" winter storm brought the threat of floods and mudslides to northwest Oregon on Monday, and authorities restricted or closed some roads.
The National Weather Service said rainfall could top 10 inches in the Nehalem River basin by Tuesday morning and warned of flooding. The river runs southwest out of the Coast Range to Nehalem Bay.
In Clatsop County, officials made plans to have a dump truck pick up ballots for Tuesday's election in case of flooding.
County Clerk Nicole Williams urged voters south of Seaside, where travel on U.S. 101 was restricted, to take their ballots south, to Cannon Beach, for example, rather than try to make it through high water to drive to drop-off points to the north.
http://www.katu.com/news/4572802.html
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Western Washington Braces For Record Flooding
POSTED: 7:25 am PST November 3, 2006 UPDATED: 5:15 pm PST November 6, 2006
SEATTLE -- Heavy rains and winds from a Pacific storm lashed Western Washington on Monday, with the National Weather Service issuing record severity flood warnings for eight rivers. Gov. Chris Gregoire declared a state of emergency for 18 counties.
A hunter was reported missing in the swollen Cowlitz River in southwest Washington after a riverbank collapsed beneath his vehicle.
Residents of low-lying areas near rivers and streams were encouraged to move to higher ground, as some rivers were expected to surpass flood stage by more than 10 feet, including the Snohomish River near Monroe and the Skykomish River near Gold Bar, northeast of Seattle.
The warm, moisture-heavy storm that came onshore during the weekend would continue over the region through Wednesday, the weather service said, with intense rainfall predicted through Tuesday in some areas.
A number of rivers jumped their banks Monday, including the Snohomish and Skykomish. The weather service said water was expected to cover farms, flood some rural homes and close many roads, and was not expected to recede in some areas until Friday.
"This will likely be the most flooding we've seen in a decade, and perhaps the biggest in November since 1990," said KIRO 7 Eyewitness News Chief Meteorologist Andy Wappler, who added that a "tropical connection" was at work.
http://www.kirotv.com/weather/10233246/detail.html
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NOAA Map
http://www.weather.gov/largemap.php