Rinse, lather, repeat. Didn’t we just have a weekend storm?
The National Weather Service (NWS) warned for the past two days that a LONG storm was pummeling toward Washington, with winds expected to start up in the Snoqualmie Valley around 4PM – and right on cue, trees stated bending and swaying around 3PM.
And what a difference a few miles makes. By 3:30PM, conditions in North Bend were remarkably stormier than in nearby Snoqualmie. The street trees in downtown North Bend were starting to take a beating while things were pretty calm on Snoqualmie Ridge.
The National Weather Service says to hold onto your hats for the next couple of days as an atmospheric river aims itself at Washington. It’s going to be two solid days of stormy weather around the region.
Wind and Rain Becoming Old Hat
A wind advisory is in effect for the Valley from 4PM November 12th through 10AM on November 13th. Southerly winds of 20 to 35MPH, with gusts up to 55MPH possible at times.
Accompanying the wind (which by Fall Valley standards is still pretty tame) is two days of predicted heavy rain, which means the Snoqualmie River will once again start rising.
Areas of the Cascades Mountains could get 6-8 inches of rain (bullseye areas could see up to 10 inches) and the lowlands 2-3 inches. NWS says there’s still considerable uncertainty as to where the heaviest rains will hit – and the latest weather models now have the heaviest rain in the Central Cascades, which could increase rain in the Valley and impact the Snoqualmie River.
A flood warning is also in effect for the Snoqualmie River near the Falls through Sunday morning, but river flow predictions don’t seem to be as high as they were for the Halloween weekend storm. Heavy rain is expected to fall until Saturday morning, November 14th and then taper off to showers.
Currently the Snoqualmie River is predicted to reach a moderate [around a phase 3] flood level, with the river starting to recede in the upper Valley on Saturday. As of Friday afternoon the river was flowing around 23,000 cfs.
PSE says it has repair crews on standby for potential power outages. You can monitor outages and restoration times on the PSE Outage Map – if Mother Nature lands you in the dark over the next couple of days.
So clear those storm drains, find the umbrella and be ready for some extended stormy weather…. as it appears this summer’s drought is officially over.
Weather forecasters says another much colder storm will roll in on Tuesday, with some weather models say this one could bring two feet of snow to the Cascades…. making skiers very happy! And apparently our elk are happy no matter what Mother Nature throws at them.
