Pineapple Express expected to bring wet, windy weather to Bellingham area
A pair of wet and windy storms heading toward Western Washington will drench Bellingham and Whatcom County beginning this weekend and into next week, boosting what has been a relatively dry month so far.
Storms sweeping in from the South Pacific could dump 1 to 2 inches of rain in the Whatcom County lowlands Saturday and Sunday, with more rain on tap for a second storm arriving Monday through Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service in Seattle. Some 2 to 3 inches of rain is forecast for the North Cascades above 6,000 feet.
On Saturday, the weather service issued a wind advisory for southeast winds 20-30 mph with gusts up to 45 mph in western Skagit and Whatcom counties.
Meteorologist Logan Howard told The Herald that such storms are commonly called a “Pineapple Express” — a type of atmospheric river — because they carry large amounts of water from the South Pacific.
Rain and melting snow in the mountains will create heavy runoff, and flooding is possible on several Washington state river systems, including the Skagit River in Mount Vernon, where a Tuesday crest at flood stage was forecast.
Current data from the Northwest River Forecast Center show the Nooksack River cresting just below flood stage in Ferndale next week.
“It looks like the main amount of the precipitation is focused on the south and central Cascades,” Howard said in a phone interview.
But things could change, and the National Weather Service issued a “hydrologic outlook” warning for Whatcom County on Thursday.
Both storms will be breezy, and could drop enough rain to make landslides an issue next week, Howard said.
This weekend’s rainfall is expected to push the monthly average closer to normal. Bellingham has received 1.23 inches of rain through Feb. 19, barely a third of the monthly average of 3.76 inches.
This story was originally published February 21, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
