New band of rain to pound Pacific Northwest amid mudslide concerns

Heavy rains caused flooding Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2015, in the Duvall/Carnation area.

In Oregon, a 60-year-old Portland woman died in bed when a tree fell on her house, and another woman drowned when her auto became submerged in standing high water in the state’s north, officials said.

A band of powerful storms that hit the Pacific Northwest of the United States this week was expected to ease on Friday, though more wet weather was still on the way and local officials warned of renewed mudslides and flooding following the record rainfall.

Because there were no signs telling her where to go once she left the freeway, Smith made a choice that led her to the steep, winding Green Mountain Road above Woodland, Washington.

Towns and highways along the Oregon Coast are under water as heavy rain led to high water and flooding.

Outside Tacoma, Washington, emergency officials rescued several people who were swept into the swollen Puyallup River overnight on Wednesday from a bankside homeless encampment, police said. A survey team says the tornado had wind speeds of up to 104 miles per hour and touched down southwest of Battle ground at 11:15 a.m. It touched down twice along a two-mile path, damaging 36 homes and 2 businesses.

Portland has endured more than 5 inches of rain in three days, almost as much as all of December in a typical year, and Seattle exceeded its normal December rainfall tally in just 8 days, the National Weather Service said.

The storms also were blamed for at least two deaths.

A woman poses for a photo in front of Snoqualmie Falls after recent storms increased water flow in Snoqualmie. It’s unclear if her husband, Richard Forrest, will be cited for going around a road closure and driving into floodwaters, Lt. Bill Fugate said. Two northbound lanes of Interstate 5, which connects Seattle to Portland, had been re-opened to traffic by Friday after closing due to a mudslide. Crews were able to reopen one lane Thursday evening and transportation officials estimate all lanes will be reopened by Sunday evening. Steady rain of the usual winter variety is expected in OR and Washington over the next few days.

Forecasters say more rain is on the way Thursday and through the weekend.

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