12/15/02
DAVE HOGAN
For today, the Weather Service predicts rain in Western Oregon and Southwest Washington. East winds of 15 to 30 mph are expected near the Columbia River Gorge, with south to southeast winds of 15 to 30 mph elsewhere in the Portland area, and gusts up to 45 mph late in the day.
Winds up to 80 mph on the headlands are expected along the coast.
Mount Hood ski areas found little cheer in the storm Saturday.
Warm, wet weather prevailed at Timberline, Mt. Hood Meadows and Mt. Hood Ski Bowl.
Two chairlifts at Timberline carted diehard skiers up the slopes Saturday, but rain put Sunday's operation on standby.
Mt. Hood Meadows and Mt. Hood Ski Bowl will remain closed at least until Monday.
Forecasts call for freezing levels to drop. If moisture accompanies the lower temperatures, ski areas could find themselves in snow and in business. The Weather Service said 3- to 6-inch snow accumulations were possible in the northern Oregon Cascades, where the snow level is expected to drop to about 2,000 feet by Tuesday.
California flooding The storm also drenched Northern California, where rain-swollen rivers rose to flood levels while high winds, dangerous surf, snow and a rare coastal tornado greeted residents Saturday.
"I would say north of San Francisco on up to Oregon will probably see the worst parts of it," said Diana Henderson of the National Weather Service.
The storm brought the heaviest rain to the coast -- by Saturday morning, the 24-hour rain total in some mountain areas surpassed 9 inches. The downpour eased a bit but gained strength by afternoon, with wind bursts driving rain horizontally in the San Francisco Bay Area.
By midday, rain and thunderstorms prompted flood warnings along the Sacramento, Russian and Napa rivers. Minor flooding was expected when waters crested Saturday evening.
"The river is close, but it has not gone over the edges yet," said Mary Baker, a cashier at the Nu-Way Market in Los Molinos, across the Sacramento River from Tehama.
Flooding in one creek near Redding forced rescuers to pluck a couple from a marooned station wagon late Friday.
Rare tornado In Humboldt County near Ferndale, the Weather Service reported a rare tornado that started as a water spout in the Pacific Ocean and moved ashore about 10:30 a.m. No damage was reported.
Forecasters said winds could reach up to 60 mph. In San Francisco, midday gusts tossed scaffolding from a seven-story building, injuring a passer-by and damaging several cars.
Power outages were reported across the region.
The storm was a mixed blessing for skiers in the Sierras.
Rachael Woods, a spokeswoman for Alpine Meadows on Lake Tahoe's north shore, said lifts were closed Saturday because of winds up to 85 mph. But the weekend's snowfall in the area could total 2 feet or more, and lifts were expected to reopen today.
In Clackamas County, the sheriff's office canceled a search-and-rescue training exercise scheduled for Saturday afternoon on Mount Hood because of the weather. The event was canceled less than 12 hours before more than 100 volunteers were supposed to meet near Government Camp, where a mock emergency scenario, probably involving a "missing person," would have been played out. Emergency workers from a half-dozen agencies had planned to practice lessons learned from a May climbing accident on Mount Hood. The Air National Guard's 1042nd Air Ambulance had planned to conduct a hoist operation. The Associated Press and Gail Kinsey Hill and Melissa Jones of The Oregonian staff contributed to this report. Dave Hogan: 503-221-8531; davehogan@news.oregonian.com
By Duff Wilson
Seattle Times staff reporter
Three-quarters of an inch of rain in two deluges flooded roads and frightened drivers yesterday but failed to throw a wet blanket on Christmas shoppers.
It rained so hard in late afternoon that Cindy Sykes' sports car barely swam through a pond in the slow lane of southbound Interstate 5 by Mercer Street.
"There was nobody ahead of me to throw up a rooster tail, then I hit it," she said. "My Miata turned into a minnow. I just got through. Then my brakes didn't work for two blocks. I was terrified driving in that rain, and I like driving in the rain."
City workers responded to 40 calls for street flooding yesterday afternoon, mostly in North Seattle. Seattle Public Utilities dispatched an extra crew and a vacuum truck to clear debris from drain lines, spokeswoman Susan Stoltzfus said.
A manager at the downtown Nordstrom, surveying shoppers, said, "They're coming in wet, but they're coming in anyway."
It poured twice during the day as fronts moved through, said Doug McConnal, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Seattle.
The 24-hour total was about three-quarters of an inch from Seattle to Portland, half an inch to the north and east of Seattle, and up to 2 inches on the coast.
"All those people who were getting frustrated by the dry autumn should now be happy," McConnal said. "It's hard to notice when you have this much wind and rain, but the temperatures across Western Washington were quite mild, and they're going to be quite mild (today)."
The day's 59-degree high set a Seattle-Tacoma International Airport record for the date. A 60-degree reading was recorded at Seattle's Federal Building in 1952.
But the Weather Service predicts a windstorm on the coast and around Bellingham and Whidbey Island late today. Then the temperature will drop while showers continue all week.
Seattle police and the Washington State Patrol reported no major problems from the rain.
Seven people were hurt, three seriously, in a four-car accident that blocked I-5 southbound near Federal Way starting at 2:41 a.m. That was caused by an SUV striking an unoccupied vehicle parked on the shoulder. The freeway was closed for four hours.
Duff Wilson: 206-464-2288 or dwilson@seattletimes.com