An atmospheric river has already dumped several inches of rain in northwest Oregon and Southwest Washington since Monday, and the heavy rain will continue through at least Wednesday night, according to the National Weather Service.
Flood watches and warnings are in effect for much of the area through Thursday afternoon. The heavy rains mean there’s an elevated threat for urban, small stream and river flooding.
Drivers should look out for water on the roadways and potential landslides in steep terrain.
Several schools in the Coast Range and along the Cascades started late due to flooding issues on Tuesday.
Landslides and flooding caused issues in several places, including along U.S. Highway 101 Tuesday morning.
The highway was closed in both directions at Tillamook due to high water. The southbound lanes of U.S. 101 were closed at Neskowin because of a landslide. And a conditional closure was put in place south of Seaside, where the road was closed to low-clearance vehicles.
In the small town of Nehalem, residents are used to soggy winters. But this latest storm has stranded many drivers along the Oregon Coast. In some places, cars stalled or even sank as drivers attempted to pass through flooded roads.
Lindy Scovell has lived in Nehalem for 75 years. He was out walking near his home when he saw a truck submerged on the road.
“Apparently, the truck tried to go through the water,” Scovell said. “It was deep enough that the truck actually floated and drifted off before it finally filled up and sank.”
Officials with the Nehalem Bay Fire and Rescue District say the driver was able to get out of the truck and is OK.
As high water issues build up along the coastline, traffic officials are reminding people not to drive through standing water.
Despite the heavy precipitation through the workweek, much-needed snow is still not expected for major ski areas.
“Snow levels will gradually lower into the weekend but remain high enough that little to no snow accumulation is expected for Cascades through the weekend,” NWS forecasters said.
Northwest News Network’s Rachel Miller-Howard contributed to this story.
This story comes to you from the Northwest News Network, a collaboration between public media organizations in Oregon and Washington.