SEATTLE, WASHINGTON — After several days of heavy mountain snowfall across Washington and Oregon, a powerful atmospheric river is now poised to drench the Pacific Northwest with widespread rain — raising serious concerns about rapid snowmelt and potential flooding.
Forecast models show multiple inches of precipitation falling across western Washington and western Oregon, with much of it expected to fall as rain — even in areas that recently measured snowfall in feet.
From Snowfall to Rapid Melt
The Cascades and higher terrain across:
- The Washington Cascades
- The Oregon Cascades
- Parts of the Olympic Mountains
have accumulated substantial fresh snow over the past several days.
Now, warmer Pacific air associated with an atmospheric river is expected to surge inland, pushing snow levels higher and turning much of the incoming precipitation into rain…