Relentless storms keep dangerous flood risk high across the Pacific Northwest
Heavy rain and the risk of flooding is forecast to shift farther south later this week in the Pacific Northwest, while ongoing problems due to saturated ground and recent flooding continue in western Washington.
After a brief break over the weekend, strong rain and winds are striking the Pacific Northwest for the second week in a row.
A relentless storm train will continue pounding the Pacific Northwest through late this week, bringing more heavy rain and increasing the risk of widespread flooding in communities already devastated by earlier inundation. However, the zone of heaviest rain and risk of new flooding is likely to shift southward.
The first storm this week, dubbed a Pineapple Express due to a stream of warm, moist air originating from the Hawaiian Islands, ushered into the Northwest during the first part of this week, with the latest pulse of heavy rain across much of western Washington and northwestern Oregon.
After there was a brief lull in heavy rainfall during the day Tuesday, heavy rain and the threat of flooding returned Tuesday night. Another lull in the heavy rain arrived with colder air Wednesday.
However, that is not the end of the storm train. A new surge of heavy rain will move in from early Thursday morning to Friday.
Additional showers through the end of the week can hinder any cleanup efforts and repairs after two levee breaches occurred in King County, Washington. The first breach occurred in the Desimone levee along the Green River Monday afternoon, resulting in "Go Now" evacuation alerts to be issued for residents and businesses east of the river. Another breach occurred early Tuesday morning on the White River near Pacific, Washington, prompting more evacuation orders.
Crews inspect a crack in a levee along the Green River in Tukwila, Wash., Monday, Dec. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Manuel Valdes)
Both levee breaches promoted Flash Flooding Warnings to be issued from the National Weather Service in Seattle.
At least one death has been caused in Washington due to the recent flooding. According to the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office, a 33-year-old man was killed when his vehicle went into 6 feet of flood water, completely submerging the vehicle.
Any additional rainfall into areas that have already received several inches over the past week will intensify runoff in the region. River and stream flooding will continue to be exacerbated.
"Expect multiple, rapid rounds of moderate to major flooding of the short-run rivers in the intermediate and lower elevations of the Washington and Oregon Cascades through the week," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski said. "Lowering freezing levels will mean that snow falls over the higher and intermediate elevations and not rain, so that will take away some of the runoff into the rivers in the headwaters and may take a bit of an edge off the flooding potential down below."
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Late-week storm to hone in on Oregon with a foot of rain in some areas
After another brief lull in the wake of the first storm, another storm will bring more rain and mountain snow to the Northwest late week. Unlike the previous storms, where the heaviest rainfall was focused across Washington, the heaviest rain will focus farther south across western Oregon and far northwestern California.
A large swath of 2-4 inches of rain can occur across much of western Oregon, Washington and extreme northwestern California, while up to 12 inches is possible along the Oregon Cascades. The AccuWeather Local StormMax™ is 16 inches.
"As the main focus of the atmospheric river shifts southward for the second half of this week, the potential for small stream and river flooding will increase substantially farther south in western Oregon, perhaps in the same manner as that of the Washington Cascades last week and again early this week,” adds Sosnowski.
Travel disruptions from the heavy rain and flooding can impact pre-holiday travel late in the week both in the air and on the road. Major highways including interstates 5 and 84 can be impacted, and motorists should be prepared for potential slowdowns.
"Beyond Friday, as moist but chilly air descends on western Washington and Oregon, showers of low-elevation rain and intermediate and high-elevation snow are in store," Sosnowski said. "Because of the more showery nature of the rain, river and stream levels should ease. However, as rounds of heavy rain may focus farther south in Northern California beginning this weekend and extending through the week of Christmas, the risk of flooding problems may increase in that area."
With the recent lull in storms in California, snowfall in the Sierra Nevada has been lean and in need due to water demand during the upcoming summer dry season, Sosnowski added.
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