NW Update: Flooding, 47-Foot Waves

UPDATE: Blog reader Jonathan points out that a surfer was killed by the large waves off the California coast yesterday.

ORIGINAL POST:

Something I missed in my post about the high waves off the Northwest coast yesterday - Buoy #46089, about 80 miles offshore from Tillamook, Oregon [Google Map] reported 47-foot waves on Monday. Here's a graph.

Incredible. Can you imagine? That's taller than a 4-story house! 44-foot waves were also reported from nearby Buoy #46029, so this wasn't an anomaly.

Here is a list of rainfall totals reported to the NWS, first those over 10 inches, then highest by state:

Tillamook, OR: 12.71"
Hood River, OR: 11.23"
Columbia, OR: 11.00"
Polk, OR: 10.70"

Tillamook, OR: 12.71"
Mason, WA: 7.86"
Humboldt, CA: 6.86"

Obviously this has caused flooding problems and here is an example from the Associated Press on the main Interstate that runs from Portland to Seattle:

Interstate 5 runs into the flooded Chehalis River at Centralia, Wash., Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2007. Drenching rain and howling winds that downed trees, cut electricity and caused widespread flooding have left two people dead and closed Interstate 5, the main north-south highway in Western Washington. Gov. Chris Gregoire declared a state of emergency Monday following the third in a series of storms that hit hardest on the Olympic Peninsula, Kitsap County and the southwest corner of the state. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

And here's another photo showing the flooding in Centralia.

Flood waters of the Chehalis River spilled out of the river's banks in Centralia, Wash., Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2007. Gov. Chris Gregoire declared a state of emergency Monday following the third in a series of storms that hit hardest on the Olympic Peninsula, Kitsap County and the southwest corner of the state. (AP Photo/ Elaine Thompson)

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