‘Catastrophic flooding’ in North America’s Pacific Northwest as rains ease | Climate Information

Intense downpours had been swept into the area this week by an ‘atmospheric river’ storm system from the Pacific Ocean.

Intense rains that triggered “catastrophic flooding” in North America’s Pacific Northwest have lastly eased, although meteorologists warn the results of overflowing rivers and floodwaters will proceed to be felt for a number of days.

Tens of hundreds of individuals had been advised to evacuate on Thursday throughout the US states of Oregon and Washington, up via the Canadian province of British Columbia, after rainstorms battered the area for a number of days, inflicting rivers to burst their banks.

Western Washington state has borne the best brunt of the storm, with roughly 100,000 residents underneath “Degree 3” evacuation orders.

State authorities have ordered folks dwelling south of the cities of Seattle and Tacoma to go away their properties, with aerial pictures exhibiting farmland already underneath water, and populated areas perilously shut.

Within the metropolis of Orting, south of Seattle, authorities warned there’s a “vital risk to life and or property”.

There have been no experiences of casualties or lacking folks as a result of flooding, in response to Karina Shagren, spokesperson for Washington’s emergency administration division.

Throughout the border in British Columbia, swaths of the Canadian metropolis of Abbotsford, east of Vancouver, had been swamped as of Thursday evening, with a whole bunch of properties in danger.

5 of the six highways main out and in of Vancouver had been additionally closed as a result of floods, falling rocks and the chance of avalanches, the province’s Ministry of Transport mentioned, describing the scenario as “evolving and really dynamic”.

The primary freeway route between Vancouver and Seattle stays open.

The extraordinary downpours had been swept into the Pacific Northwest area earlier this week by an atmospheric river, an enormous airborne present of dense moisture funnelled inland from the Pacific Ocean.

The storm system, which dumped greater than 250mm (10 inches) of rain in some locations, additionally introduced heavy showers and flooding as distant as western Montana and the sting of northern Idaho.

Although the downpour started to reduce on Thursday, the after-effects are anticipated to linger throughout the area as excessive volumes of water make their method via swollen river programs.

“Whereas drier climate appears to be like to be in retailer for this space of the nation via the upcoming weekend, the most important … catastrophic flooding results are more likely to proceed for a number of days throughout parts of western Washington State and northwestern Oregon,” the US Nationwide Climate Service mentioned.

The Nationwide Water Heart has issued an up to date Key Messages for the continuing Catastrophic flooding impacts this week in Washington. Extra data: https://t.co/UZ3ekqUUkq #flooding #wawx pic.twitter.com/KwdS8a9T5y

— Nationwide Water Heart (@nwsnwc) December 11, 2025