Whatcom officials watching ‘atmospheric river,’ hoping it’s not a repeat of last year
An “atmospheric river” is expected to drench an already soggy Whatcom County with heavy rain over the next several days, prompting emergency management officials to keep an eye on the Nooksack River.
Periods of heavy rain are forecast Monday night and Tuesday morning and again Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, according to the National Weather Service in Seattle.
Temperatures are expected around 50 degrees in the Whatcom County lowlands and in the mid-30s near the Mt Baker Ski Area, the weather service said online.
Rain falling in the mountains could increase the chance of flooding in the Whatcom County lowlands, said John Garrett, deputy director of the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office Division of Emergency Management.
“We need to pay attention to it,” Gargett told The Bellingham Herald. “I’m concerned that we may get more rain than planned and what the freezing level is going to be.”
Similar weather conditions filled the Nooksack River to capacity last year in Everson, where it spilled its banks and ran into creeks and tributaries that also flooded nearby Nooksack and Sumas.
Warm weather caused rain, instead of snow, to fall in the Mount Baker wilderness, and runoff sent torrents of water surging down the Nooksack. Damages totaled about $3.5 million for the storms that hit in late January and early February 2020.
Meteorologist Dustin Guy in Seattle said much of the rain appears focused on the Olympic Mountains and areas south of Bellingham.
“It’ll be borderline at this point,” with the snow level hovering between 5,000 and 6,500 feet, Guy told The Herald.
“That could change of course, over the next 24 hours as things evolve,” Guy said.
A flood watch was issued through Wednesday night.
Forecasts from the Northwest River Center show the Nooksack peaking at “action stage” Wednesday and Thursday, which is below flood stage in the South Fork Valley community of Saxon, near Nugents Corner, and in Ferndale.
Meanwhile, other weather-related hazards remain, according to weather forecasts:
▪ A gale warning was issued through Wednesday morning for Bellingham Bay and other coastal Whatcom County waters.
▪ Strong south-southeast winds could develop, with possible power outages from falling limbs and trees around coastal Whatcom County.
▪ Coastal flooding from seasonal king tides is possible on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings at Point Roberts, Boundary Bay, and on the east side of Sandy Point.
▪ A winter storm warning was in effect through Tuesday night in the Mount Baker wilderness.
▪ Avalanche danger was at “considerable” levels in backcountry areas.
▪ Landslide concerns remain high from rain-soaked ground.
