Atmospheric river is rolling
By Terry Murry on Monday, December 4th, 2023 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
PENDLETON– The National Weather Service in Pendleton forecasts there could be significant rises on many rivers, creeks, and streams in the area this week. Abundant precipitation and warmer temperatures are predicted through Wednesday. By Tuesday, temperatures will average 10 to 20 degrees above normal.
On Sunday night the snow levels were ranging from around 5,000 feet in the Wallowa Mountains and Washington Cascades to between 6,500 to 8,000 feet elsewhere. The snow levels will continue to rise, peaking at more than 9,000 feet later today (Monday) into Tuesday. The snow levels will then start to drop over the Washington Cascades. That means snow that had accumulated will begin to melt and new precipitation will fall as rain, creating runoff.
Significant rises are expected on many area rivers and streams, although no mainstream flooding is anticipated. Earlier Sunday the National Weather Service had listed the Umatilla River at Gibbon as one of the rivers expected to reach or exceed its banks. Later Sunday, the Umatilla River was not on the list. Only two rivers with that danger were listed. They are the Naches River at Cliffdell and the Naches River near Naches. If rainfall is higher than currently forecast, other rivers could be impacted.
The hydrologic forecast will be updated this afternoon (Monday). Weather advisories for the region can be found at https://www.weather.gov/pdt/.
