Atmospheric river to slam Pacific Northwest with days of heavy rain

LYNNWOOD—A potent atmospheric river will unload several days of heavy rain across the Pacific Northwest starting Monday, raising the risk of river flooding, urban flash flooding, and landslides across western Washington and Oregon, the National Weather Service reports.

The onslaught begins Monday morning when a sub-tropical moisture begins to flow inland along a strong Pacific jet stream. Coastal areas of Washington and Oregon will see the first surge, with rainfall quickly spreading inland and intensifying through midweek. Forecasters expect 2 to 6 inches of rain in the lowlands and 4 to 10 inches across the Olympics and Cascades by late Wednesday, on top of 1 to 4 inches that fell over the weekend.

With soils already saturated, the National Weather Service has issued an extended Flood