Portland has endured more than 5 inches of rain in three days, almost as much as falls in all of December in a typical year, and Seattle exceeded its normal December rainfall tally in just 8 days, the National Weather Service said. The tornados tend to be short-lived and relatively weak compared to tornados in other parts of the country. There were reports of damage to 36 homes and two commercial structures but no initial reports of injuries.
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Periods of heavy rain will continue across the Pacific Northwest and down into northern California as the next installment of storms moves onshore, the National Weather Service said.
On Wednesday afternoon, a woman was found dead inside a vehicle in knee-to-waist deep water in Clatskanie, Oregon, after firefighters rescued a man found standing on top of the auto.
The storms this week, harsh for even a typically water-logged Pacific Northwest winter, have triggered mudslides and flooding, knocked out power to thousands of people, closed roadways and schools, and prompted Washington’s Governor Jay Inslee to declare a state of emergency.
Weather has been blamed for the deaths of two people in OR, as storms triggered flooding there and in neighboring Washington State.
Smith said her detour onto the Green Mountain Road above Woodland, Washington, was by accident.
She says she was scared and her ears were popping and she wasn’t sure she was going the right way until she made it back to the freeway. She says five cars were following her and she was thankful when she got back down the other side and drove back onto I-5 again north of the slide.
More rain is on the way through the weekend.
Her grandson declared the experience an adventure to remember.
In Oregon, a 60-year-old Portland woman died in bed this week when a tree fell on her house and another woman drowned when her auto became submerged in high water in the state’s north, officials said.
It’s unclear if Forrest will be cited for going around the road closure.
West Oregon Electric, which serves Vernonia, said many areas of the community were without power. Two northbound lanes of Interstate 5, which connects Seattle to Portland, had been re-opened to traffic by Friday after closing due to a mudslide. Battle Ground High School issued a “shelter in place” warning, which orders students and staff to stay away from windows. Crews were able to reopen one lane Thursday evening and transportation officials estimate all lanes will be reopened by Sunday evening.
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More storms are coming, but nothing as strong as earlier this week.
