PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Moments of heavy rain and snowmelt may lead to flooding concerns Thursday. We will begin the day with rain, hopefully avoiding a full day of rain due to the tracking of the atmospheric river that is taking over.
A flood advisory and a flood watch are in place right now. The flood advisory is for the current state of what is going on and the flood watch extends through Friday.
Some of the vulnerable rivers around the region are likely to reach flood levels. Low lying spots that are also open to flooding, may have issues through this event as well. You will want to watch out for the massive puddles and water-covered roadways when you’re heading out.
There are also a handful of winter weather alerts that you can find in the slideshow below.
The morning will probably be the wettest part of our Thursday. Heavy rain around the western Gorge and into southwest Washington. It is likely that areas of the Gorge will be dealing with an icy start, which could create a major headache for some of you. You can read more about the morning ice in more detail with this article.
Around the coast and the valley, we will only be on alert for rain, and to reiterate — flooding issues. It sure looks like the main axis of the atmospheric river lifts north through the day. This could be our opportunity to bring in some dry time for the valley, especially to the south. This may also cut off the moisture for the areas of the Gorge that are going to have some problems from overnight. This will not be permanent, because the moisture again sags south by night.
By Thursday night, the coast and valley are going to be back to a steady rain. Snow levels jump at this point of time above the passes, helping melt some of the snow. This is part of the flood watch concerns from above. This should not harm the ski resorts in the short or long term.
From the start of Thursday until Friday, we are expecting multiple inches for the northwest Oregon coast. It’s possible we have record-breaking rainfall from this event.
Models are advertising anywhere from half an inch in Salem up to about an inch for Vancouver on Thursday. It really depends on your location for our Thursday because the farther north you are, the more rain you should be expecting. I believe areas like Eugene should see more rain than what is projected, however, most of that is coming late as the moisture moves south into Friday.
