As Winter Weather Continues, Floods And Landslides Hit The Northwest

Northwest Oregon and Southwest Washington are preparing once more for difficult weather.

The National Weather Service has issued a flood watch for much of the region over the next several days.

Andy Bryant, a hydrologist with NWS in Portland, says a combination of factors led to the flooding concerns, including melting snow.

"That snow that's in the 1000-2000 foot range, we think that we'll see some of that melt along with the heavy rain that we're expecting."

The snow level — the elevation where temperatures are cold enough for the rain to become snow — could rise as high as 8,000 feet. Much of the Willamette Valley and Portland region could see 1-2 inches of rain.

Smaller creeks in Portland and rivers in the Coast Range might flood first, with rivers in the Willamette Valley following in the coming days. Experts will continue to watch the main stem of the Willamette River. Bryant says they expect the water levels to be high, but not to reach flood stage.

Bryant says the wet conditions could lead to more landslides in the regions.

"We've had a lot of unstable slopes, a lot of slides in the West Hills and this rain is only going to exacerbate that."

He says it's difficult to predict slides, but the West Hills, the Coast Range and parts of the Cascade foothills are at risk.

East of Portland, the Columbia River Gorge could be hit by a few inches of snow and up to 1.5 inches of ice. That region has already been hit hard by storms this winter.

"The folks in the Gorge and in Hood River, they're really weary," says Bryant. "It's been a rough couple of months there. Unfortunately, they're going to have to bear through a couple more days of nasty weather."

While the coast range is threatened by heavy rains and flooding, the NWS has also issued a high wind warning for coastal towns. Those areas can also expect increasingly high waves.