Strong wind, heavy rain forecast for Whatcom, raising threat of flooding
A warm, wet storm will bring blustery weather to Whatcom County and park itself over Western Washington early this week, raising fears of flooding and closing the Mt. Baker Ski Area for two days.
An “atmospheric river” of precipitation is expected to bring strong winds and heavy rain to the lowlands to the mountains above 6,000 feet, according to forecasts from the National Weather Service in Seattle.
Snow will melt into the Nooksack River, causing it to rise near flood stage Wednesday and Thursday, Jan. 12-13.
Similar rain-on-snow events fueled by atmospheric rivers have caused devastating floods along the Nooksack from the South Fork Valley to the river mouth at Lummi Nation, hitting especially hard in the communities of Everson, Nooksack and Sumas.
“The (atmospheric) river will lift a little north later Tuesday (Jan. 11) into Wednesday with the higher precipitation amounts in the Cascades over the North Cascades,” meteorologist Dan Felton said in the online forecast discussion.
Up to 2 inches of rain could fall through Wednesday around Bellingham, with higher amounts in the North Cascades, the weather service said in an emailed statement.
Daytime temperatures were expected in the mid-40s to low 50s through Thursday. Overnight lows will be mostly in the 40s.
Both a wind advisory and a flood watch were issued for Whatcom County.
Gusty winds may cause localized power outages and tree limb damage.
Southeast winds of 25 mph to 35 mph are possible, with gusts of 45 mph to 50 mph.
Windy conditions will be strongest in western Whatcom and Skagit counties and in the San Juan Islands.
“River flooding may lead to isolated residential (and) urban flooding. Widespread inundation of farmland,” the weather service said.
According to the Northwest River Forecast Center, the Nooksack River will crest about a foot below flood stage late Wednesday near Nugents Corner and less than a foot below flood stage early Thursday downstream near Ferndale.
Road closures were possible.
Landslides were also a concern because ground that’s soaked from melting snow could become unstable with heavy rainfall.
Because of the forecast, Mt. Baker Ski Area said on its website that it would be closed Tuesday, Jan. 11, and Wednesday.
Avalanche danger has eased to “moderate” levels in the Mount Baker wilderness backcountry, the Northwest Avalanche Center said online.
This story was originally published January 10, 2022 at 8:21 AM.
