'Beast of a storm' pounding Pacific Northwest
By
Ryan Adamson, AccuWeather meteorologist
Updated Nov 13, 2020 11:29 PM EDT
A storm taking aim at the Northwest will be the first significant storm since last winter. As is typical during the fall and winter months in the Pacific Northwest, the storm system will unleash a broad range of hazards.
"It will be a beast of a storm," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski said, adding that it could end up being one of the most intense of the entire wet season.
Rain arrived along the I-5 corridor from Seattle to Portland on Thursday evening, and precipitation continued to push farther inland through Thursday night and Friday morning. As the precipitation encountered colder air in the higher elevations, snow began falling in the Washington Cascades. Snoqualmie reported over 10 inches in a span of 24 hours.
On Friday morning, the border of King County and Snohomish County in Washington experienced lightening, hail and heavy downpours, which were caught on the National Weather Service's radar.
By Friday afternoon, nearly 50,000 customers were out of power in the state of Washington, and over 12,000 were out in Oregon, according to poweroutage.us.
In Oregon, high winds were reported throughout the state early Friday morning. In Lincoln County, gusts the speed of Category 1 hurricanes were reported.
Snow levels that were initially around 4,000 feet on Thursday night will fall to around 2,000 feet Friday night as a cold front associated with the area of low pressure moving ashore brings lower temperatures. Some passes are already closed for the winter season, but those that remain open will be snow-packed and slippery as snow piles up through the day Friday.
Below 2,000 feet, where precipitation will remain in the form of rain, some localized instances of flooding may occur in places where rain falls most heavily. This would be most likely along the immediate coast and in the foothills of the Cascades.
Into Friday evening, precipitation will expand into Northern California, northern and central Idaho, western Montana, western Wyoming, northern Nevada and Utah. At the coast in California, rain will fall heavily at times. Elsewhere, snow will fall at a furious pace.
"Travel will be extremely difficult and treacherous through early Saturday morning for anyone trying to head across the Washington and Oregon cascades with heavy snow falling down to pass levels, including Stevens and Snoqualmie Passes in Washington," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Dan Pydynowski said.
By the time the snow winds down on Saturday afternoon, a general 1 to 2 feet of snow will fall in most locations above 4,000 feet, with an expected AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 40 inches at the highest elevations in the Cascades and northern Rockies.
Precipitation, whether it be rain or snow, will not be all that residents of the Northwest will encounter with this storm. Wind will be widespread throughout the West. In areas of heavy rain or heavy snow, this will cause reduced visibility. In addition, snowdrifts can become several feet high. Reduced visibility and drifting snow will only be two potential impacts from the high winds.
"In addition to difficult travel, sporadic power outages will also be a concern through Friday evening along the I-5 corridor from Portland to Seattle as wind gusts of 30-40 mph will be strong enough to down some tree limbs, which could cause some damage to power lines," Pydynowski said.
While wind gusts will be 30-40 mph in many cities along I-5, winds could gust over 60 mph along the immediate Oregon coast on Friday. By Friday night and Saturday, similar wind gusts are likely in the higher elevations of Montana and Idaho. In those locations, an AccuWeather StormMax™ of 90 mph is forecast.
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Yet another storm could come ashore Saturday night, but it does not look as potent as its predecessor. However, a brief period of heavy rain could affect coastal Oregon Saturday night and Sunday morning, before precipitation becomes lighter.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
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News / Winter Weather
'Beast of a storm' pounding Pacific Northwest
By Ryan Adamson, AccuWeather meteorologist
Updated Nov 13, 2020 11:29 PM EDT
A storm taking aim at the Northwest will be the first significant storm since last winter. As is typical during the fall and winter months in the Pacific Northwest, the storm system will unleash a broad range of hazards.
"It will be a beast of a storm," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski said, adding that it could end up being one of the most intense of the entire wet season.
Rain arrived along the I-5 corridor from Seattle to Portland on Thursday evening, and precipitation continued to push farther inland through Thursday night and Friday morning. As the precipitation encountered colder air in the higher elevations, snow began falling in the Washington Cascades. Snoqualmie reported over 10 inches in a span of 24 hours.
On Friday morning, the border of King County and Snohomish County in Washington experienced lightening, hail and heavy downpours, which were caught on the National Weather Service's radar.
By Friday afternoon, nearly 50,000 customers were out of power in the state of Washington, and over 12,000 were out in Oregon, according to poweroutage.us.
In Oregon, high winds were reported throughout the state early Friday morning. In Lincoln County, gusts the speed of Category 1 hurricanes were reported.
Snow levels that were initially around 4,000 feet on Thursday night will fall to around 2,000 feet Friday night as a cold front associated with the area of low pressure moving ashore brings lower temperatures. Some passes are already closed for the winter season, but those that remain open will be snow-packed and slippery as snow piles up through the day Friday.
Below 2,000 feet, where precipitation will remain in the form of rain, some localized instances of flooding may occur in places where rain falls most heavily. This would be most likely along the immediate coast and in the foothills of the Cascades.
Into Friday evening, precipitation will expand into Northern California, northern and central Idaho, western Montana, western Wyoming, northern Nevada and Utah. At the coast in California, rain will fall heavily at times. Elsewhere, snow will fall at a furious pace.
"Travel will be extremely difficult and treacherous through early Saturday morning for anyone trying to head across the Washington and Oregon cascades with heavy snow falling down to pass levels, including Stevens and Snoqualmie Passes in Washington," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Dan Pydynowski said.
By the time the snow winds down on Saturday afternoon, a general 1 to 2 feet of snow will fall in most locations above 4,000 feet, with an expected AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 40 inches at the highest elevations in the Cascades and northern Rockies.
Precipitation, whether it be rain or snow, will not be all that residents of the Northwest will encounter with this storm. Wind will be widespread throughout the West. In areas of heavy rain or heavy snow, this will cause reduced visibility. In addition, snowdrifts can become several feet high. Reduced visibility and drifting snow will only be two potential impacts from the high winds.
"In addition to difficult travel, sporadic power outages will also be a concern through Friday evening along the I-5 corridor from Portland to Seattle as wind gusts of 30-40 mph will be strong enough to down some tree limbs, which could cause some damage to power lines," Pydynowski said.
While wind gusts will be 30-40 mph in many cities along I-5, winds could gust over 60 mph along the immediate Oregon coast on Friday. By Friday night and Saturday, similar wind gusts are likely in the higher elevations of Montana and Idaho. In those locations, an AccuWeather StormMax™ of 90 mph is forecast.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
Yet another storm could come ashore Saturday night, but it does not look as potent as its predecessor. However, a brief period of heavy rain could affect coastal Oregon Saturday night and Sunday morning, before precipitation becomes lighter.
Related:
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
Report a Typo