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Washington residents were prepared for a possible flood as the “atmospheric river” again threatened parts of the northwestern part of the northwest, which was severely damaged by extreme weather events earlier this month.
People in the small communities of Sumas and Everson in northwestern Washington were asked to evacuate voluntarily on Saturday night. Bellingham Herald reported.. Both towns near the Canadian border experienced extreme floods from the last storm.
According to the emergency alert, road closures in this area may begin early Sunday morning.
Flood warnings were issued in most of western and central Washington over the weekend, and the National Weather Service warned that floods could occur until Sunday.
Heavy rains and river rises were also expected over the weekends in the Cascade Range in the center of the state and the Olympic Mountains near the coast.
Gary Schneider, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s Seattle office, said Saturday morning, “The river will rise and we expect floods to occur in some places by early tomorrow morning. I have. “
According to Schneider, if a flood occurs, it is likely to occur on Saturday night or Sunday morning.
Atmospheric rivers (a huge stream of moisture erupting northwest across the Pacific) can bring up to 3 inches (7.6 centimeters) of rain in some areas hit by recent floods, according to forecasters. I have.
The state is still assessing millions of dollars in damage from the last storm due to atmospheric rivers.
In Whatcom County, northwestern Washington, authorities said damage costs could reach $ 50 million.
The last flood closed the US-Canada border in Sumas and three bridges in Bellingham, and a landslide blocked Interstate 5 south of Bellingham.
Atmospheric river events this weekend shouldn’t be as “serious” as the events earlier this month, Schneider said.
“It’s still going to be a pretty decent rain event, but (the flood earlier this month) was a kind of historic event, so I don’t expect it to repeat,” Schneider said. ..
Meteorologists predict that it should be less rainy on Sundays and relatively dry on Mondays.
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Sarakline is a corps member of the Associated Press / American Capitol News Initiative Report. Report for America is a non-profit national service program that places journalists in the local newsroom to report on unreported issues.
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