More rain on way for flood-ravaged Northwest
Pastor Dale Morgan
More rain on way for flood-ravaged Northwest US
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POSTED: 1854 GMT (0254 HKT), November 9, 2006
PORTLAND, Oregon (AP) -- Forecasters say another intense Pacific storm
is set to hit the already soaked Northwest Friday.
The region got a short break on Thursday, when early morning light
showers were expected to give way to dry conditions by afternoon, as
residents cleaned up after storms that smashed rainfall records and
damaged hundreds of homes, authorities said.
The heavy rain and flooding blamed for three deaths in the Pacific
Northwest also washed out a highway on the east side of Mount Hood, and
it may take $20 million to reopen it, Oregon highway officials said.
(Watch rescuers work around the clock to save flood victims -- 1:36)
The White River flowed over Oregon 35 on Monday and Tuesday, making cuts
at least 20 feet deep through the highway and sending boulders and trees
rolling down the mountainside, said Bill Barnhart, an Oregon Department
of Transportation manager.
Two creeks also wiped out a section of the highway to the north.
The storms that hit Oregon and Washington state damaged hundreds of
homes and broke rainfall records, authorities said.
At least three deaths were blamed on the storm: two men in vehicles
swept into a Washington river and a 78-year-old woman found along the
Oregon coast, where another woman was missing.
On Mount Hood, as much as a million cubic yards of rock, mud and sand
covered a quarter-mile stretch of road, the main highway connecting U.S.
26 from Government Camp to Hood River.
"None of us at ODOT or the U.S. Forest Service have ever seen it this
bad," Barnhart said. "Our biggest concern right now is the safety of our
workers."
There were no estimates when the highway would reopen. The same highway
washed out in the summer of 2005.
The so-called Pineapple Express stormstorm, named for its origin over
the warm Pacific Ocean, eased on Wednesday after sending rivers over
their banks Monday and Tuesday, causing millions of dollars in damage.
(Watch a family's dream home ravaged by floods -- 1:59)
Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski declared an emergency in coastal Tillamook
County, where about 100 people were evacuated because of rising water.
The body of a 78-year-old woman who disappeared on a storm-battered
beach was found Wednesday, the third confirmed death from the storm.
Elma Benefiel and her daughter-in-law were last seen walking near
Gleneden Beach, Oregon, on Tuesday. Lt. Vicky Ryan of the Depoe Bay Fire
District said she saw the women and "cautioned them to not go out on the
beach because of the high water."
They apparently moved to another stretch of beach, she said. Benefiel's
body was found on a spit off the beach, Ryan said. A search was
continuing for her daughter-in-law.
Two deaths were reported in Washington -- a hunter whose pickup truck
was swept into the Cowlitz River and a man whose vehicle was swept into
the same river after he ignored road closure signs. The first body was
recovered late Monday, and the second early Wednesday.
Some highways and numerous local roads were closed Wednesday because of
high water, mud and rock slides or flood damage. (Watch dramatic rescue
from rising waters -- 2:09)
While river levels were dropping, some were still at flood stage, with
recovery and damage assessment still hours or even days away.
Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire had declared an emergency for 18 counties
on Monday, authorizing the National Guard and the Emergency Management
Division to offer assistance.
The state Office of Emergency Management and the Federal Emergency
Management Agency will have crews on the ground next week, state
spokesman Rob Harper said.
Rainfall records were set Monday across western Washington, including
8.22 inches at Stampede Pass, which broke an all-time record for a
24-hour period there of 7.29 inches, set in 1962. The storm dumped up to
15 inches on Oregon by Tuesday, mostly along the coast. (Watch
floodwaters lapping at homes, cars -- 2:00)
East cools off, Plains heat up
A one-two frontal punch was dampening and cooling portions of the East
early Thursday, while the southern and central Plains heated up and snow
fell along the Rockies.
A low pressure system packing heavy showers was pushing along the New
England coast as it moved northeastward into Nova Scotia. A second,
stronger system was creeping northeastward from Lake Superior through
eastern Canada.
The storms were expected to keep the truly cold air north of the border,
though some chilly temperatures were to filter into the Dakotas and
Upper Midwest.
In the West, a low pressure system was forecast to push through the
Rockies and into the Plains, causing snow showers over the Northern
Rockies. Snow advisories were in effect for parts of Wyoming, Montana
and Utah.
Temperatures on Thursday in the Northeast were expected to rise into the
50s and 60s, while the Southern Plains could see temperatures in the
70s, 80s and possibly 90s. Temperatures in the northern Rockies and
intermountain West were predicted to rise into the 30s and 40s, while
the Northwest was expected to see temperatures in the 40s and 50s.
California's temperatures were forecast to rise into the 60s and 70s in
the interior.
Temperatures in the Lower 48 states on Wednesday ranged from a low of 18
degrees at Gunnison, Colorado, to a high of 93 degrees at Casa Grande,
Arizona.