Atmospheric Rivers Target Pacific Northwest With Heavy Rain and Flooding

The storm action is just getting started in the Pacific Northwest. After a blustery and wet weekend, the atmospheric river train is going to continue to unleash across this corner of the country.

More Atmospheric Rivers Taking Aim at the Northwest

The Pacific storm machine will persist throughout British Columbia and portions of Washington state this week before shifting to the south and bringing Oregon and Northern California into the mix. These long plumes of moisture coming up from the Pacific will bring repeated rounds of strong winds, rough seas, and heavy rain.

Forecasters are warning that the persistent rounds of heavy rain will pair with melting snow at the intermediate elevations to raise the risk of runoff and small stream and urban flash flooding. The activity fired up over the weekend in Washington and British Columbia. Thousands were left without power in Seattle when a potent windstorm blew in on Saturday evening.

A brief respite in the conditions on Sunday gave residents the chance to clean up the damage. However, the next storm is already making its way from the coast on Monday. This weather maker will bring yet another round of moisture and winds on Tuesday and into early Wednesday. A third wave is forecast to arrive late Thursday and into Friday.

The latest forecast models predict widespread rain of 2 to 4 inches from late Monday through Friday across the lower elevations of western British Columbia and to the south into the western foothills of Washington's Olympic Peninsula and the Cascades.

Heavier rain totals of 4 to 8 inches are in store for Canada's Coast Mountains, Vancouver Island, and across the lower and intermediate elevations of the Coast Mountains. Projected rainfall rates of 1 to 2 inches per hour during the peak of the storms are prompting major flooding concerns.