3rd UPDATE — More heavy rains today should be a repeat, intensity-wise, of Tuesday’s storm — and a third storm expected to arrive Thursday morning may pack a much larger punch.
Kirby Cook, a National Weather Service forecaster in Seattle, says the region is facing combined risks of flooding, landslides and toppling trees before things calm down for a drier weekend.
“The third storm is the strongest of them. This is the one we’re really watching,” Cook said.
There is uncertainty as to where the most severe portions of the third storm will make landfall, but it is expected to produce considerably stronger winds than the first two storms along the coast, he said.
The National Weather Service said the heaviest rain from the trio of storms will fall on the coast.
It could total 10 to 13 inches in the western slope of the Olympic Mountains and 5 to 9 inches in the North Cascades.
With a high snow level, the runoff could flood rivers flowing off the mountains. Mudslides are possible on saturated bluffs and steep hills.
Trees could topple in soggy soil in Thursday’s winds. Forecasters are warning of 35 mph to 45 mph winds with gusts to 75 on the coast.
Quieter weather will begin Friday, with dry conditions and temperatures in the upper 40s, the weather service says.
OUR WEATHER ROUNDUP:
THE FIRST OF three storms taking aim at the North Olympic Peninsula dropped record rainfall in LaPush and lifted the Bogachiel River to near flood stage Tuesday, endangering a Corps of Engineers dredge parked in the small harbor at LaPush.
National Weather Service flood warnings have been issued for the Bogachiel and Elwha rivers through tonight, and a flood watch is in effect for all of Clallam and Jefferson counties through Friday.
Wind toppling trees caused broken wires and power outages across the North Olympic Peninsula, including 1,000 customers in Jefferson County.
A weather station in LaPush reported 2.3 inches of rain during a 24-hour period ending at 3 a.m. Tuesday.
That broke the Dec. 8 record of 2.28 inches set in 1971, said Clallam County Sheriff’s Sgt. Brian King, who supervises the West End detachment of the Sheriff’s Office.
“The rain is impressive, even for the West End,” King said.
By 4 p.m. Tuesday, the Bogachiel River near LaPush was 35.53 feet and falling from a 1 p.m. high of 36.32 feet. Flood stage is 37 feet, according to the U.S. Geological Survey streamflow-monitoring Web page.
Dredging barge
The swollen river raised worries about the dredging barge at the mouth of the Quillayute River.
“Our concern is that at low tide, the river will speed up. It’s our major priority right now,” said Chief William Lyon of the Quileute police.
A 1:35 p.m. Tuesday, a 8.53-foot tide was holding river waters back.
But as the ocean level fell toward a negative 0.8-foot tide expected at 8:24 p.m. Tuesday, the swollen river waters would speed up, putting additional stress on the lines, Lyon said.
Crew members were watching to see if the lines securing the dredge could take the force of flood waters at low tide, he said.
At about 1 p.m., the area also was experiencing winds of 30 to 40 mph, Lyon said, although he added that the storm seemed to be passing.
Forks-area outages
LaPush officials also were dealing with power outages as trees fell into power lines.
“There is a snapped power line right behind the police station,” Lyon said.
It was unknown when power would be restored, as a second major winter storm approached the coast and Clallam County Public Utility
District crews struggled with multiple power line failures in the county.
The PUD reported that about 500 customers on Quileute Prairie and in the LaPush area were without power Tuesday afternoon, with no estimate when it would be repaired.
“There are two broken poles [due to wind and fallen trees] to repair,” said Mike Howe, Clallam PUD spokesman.
Lyon said LaPush crews were kept busy removing downed trees on U.S. Highway 110, which threatened to cut off the small community.
“We still have quite a few trees falling,” he said.
The good news, he said, was that the jetties that protect the town from ocean waves were holding.
King said Tuesday that while rivers had not crested as high as predicted, there was standing water on many roads due to the heavy rainfall.
The official Weather Service station at Quillayute Airport reported 2.92 inches, but the rainfall amount was not a record.
The storm produced sustained winds of about 23 mph and gusts to 43 mph.
A Weather Service flood warning for the Elwha River at McDonald Bridge and for the Bogachiel River near LaPush is active until late tonight.
At 4 p.m. Tuesday, the Elwha River measured 19.10 feet, falling from a
2 p.m. height of 19.77 feet. Flood stage is 20 feet.
The Weather Service weather station at William R. Fairchild International Airport in Port Angeles received 1 inch of rain Monday, and an additional 0.35 inches fell by 1 p.m. Tuesday.
Jefferson County
Jefferson Healthcare in Port Townsend and neighborhoods nearby lost power for about an hour due to weather-related damage to power lines, said Jim Parker, district manager of the Jefferson County PUD.
About 1,000 customers were affected by power outages Tuesday, he said.
That included a number of small outages in the Quilcene area as trees fell on lines in outlying areas, Parker said.
Most had power restored by 4 p.m., he said.
The Clallam County PUD reported that 800 customers in the Neah Bay area lost power because of trees on the transmission lines.
Restoration in Neah Bay was expected at around 9 p.m. or later, Howe said.
He added that several smaller power outages Tuesday affected about 100 customers on East Beach and Barnes Point, 42 customers in the Hoko-Ozette area and 35 customers on the west side of Lake Sutherland.
State Department of Transportation crews were kept busy removing fallen trees from highways.
Highways were briefly opened and closed due to falling trees at Highway 101 near Mansfield Road and state Highway 112 near Freshwater Bay Road.
State Highway 20 near Woodman Road, west of Port Hadlock, was closed because of a fallen tree, and in west Jefferson County, Highway 101 was closed briefly near Nolan Creek due to power lines on the road.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arice@peninsuladailynews.com.
