Western Washington will get a much-needed break from torrential rain into this weekend. However, more rain is lurking over the Pacific and storms will return with a dreaded pineapple express forecast for next week.
A series of storms with atmospheric rivers has delivered months’ worth of rain in a matter of days, unleashing historic flooding and damaging mudslides in portions of western Washington. A break from the heavy rain has begun, but another firehose of rain will douse the region next week. AccuWeather meteorologists warn that flooding may expand farther south into Oregon and California.
This image of a mudslide along Interstate 90 in King County, Washington, was captured on Dec. 10, 2025. (Photo by Trooper Rick Johnson)
As much as a foot and a half of rain earlier this week pushed multiple rivers to major flood stage and even record high levels. As the rain tapers off and the runoff eases, rivers will recede quickly from Friday to Saturday.
The main storm track has eased up with rain tapering to showers and areas of drizzle over much of Washington as of Thursday afternoon. From Friday to Sunday, storms will track farther north and across British Columbia, providing a brief respite from the incredibly wet weather.
The tails of the storms will bring some showers to Washington, northern Idaho and northern Oregon. While this will not be the type of rainfall that significantly exacerbates flooding problems, the saturated state of the ground has left some hillsides top-heavy and unstable. Mudslides and other debris flows will remain a possibility through the weekend…