Powerful storms dump heavy rain and swell rivers across US Pacific north-west | US weather

A series of powerful storms battered the Pacific Northwest, dumping heavy rain, swelling rivers and prompting flood rescues in several states.

An unusually strong storm system called an atmospheric river is moving through the region, bringing heavy rain to western Washington and northwest Oregon and more than a foot of snow to the northern Rockies and northwest Wyoming.

With intense weather expected to continue for several days, flood warnings are in effect along the Pacific Coast and in the Cascades through midweek.

Already, the weather had emergency agencies on alert. In Snohomish County, north of Seattle, firefighters rescued two people trapped by floodwaters at a campsite, local television stations reported. Crews used drones and water rescue craft to reach them and bring them to safety, officials said.

A mudslide temporarily closed a highway near North Bend, east of Seattle. The flooding also caused highway closures on several sections of the 101.

The Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center forecasts several days of heavy rain in western Washington and northwest Oregon, with the trans-Pacific jet stream bringing heavy rain along the coast and snow to the mountains.

The Seattle Weather Service office said in a social media post Tuesday morning that the atmospheric river had moved south, but precipitation was expected to return north later in the day, bringing another round of heavy rain and causing significant river flooding to continue.

Meanwhile, a fast-moving storm moving east across the upper Midwest is expected to bring a range of winter conditions there as well, including freezing rain, high winds and heavy snow.

“It’s definitely one of those messy winter weather events that we’re going to be dealing with, depending on where you are in the Northern Plains here,” said Ryan Dunleavy, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in the Twin Cities of Minnesota.

North Dakota was experiencing rain and freezing rain, and much of the state was under a travel ban due to freezing rain and slippery roads. Some schools have closed or shifted to virtual classes due to the weather conditions.

Most of Montana and the Dakotas were under a high wind warning.

Winter weather is also expected to affect evening travel in Minnesota and northwest Wisconsin, while parts of central and northern Minnesota and northwest Wisconsin could expect heavy snow.