Just as record floodwaters begin to recede in western Washington state, residents of the Pacific north-west are bracing for another powerful weather system. This system, known as an atmospheric river, is expected to swell rivers back to dangerous levels, threatening further flooding across the region and into Canada.
Earlier this week, an extraordinarily strong atmospheric river dumped more than a foot of rain on Washington state, causing rivers to overflow and triggering widespread evacuations. The storm dropped 5tn gallons of rain, leading to mudslides that destroyed homes and left families stranded on rooftops awaiting rescue.
The heavy rain has also caused flooding in British Columbia, where landslides and flooding forced additional evacuations and shut down several major highways leading to Vancouver. The back-to-back systems are unusually potent and are causing cross-border problems in both the US and Canada.
While atmospheric rivers are not uncommon in the Pacific north-west this time of year, the intensity of these storms has raised concerns. Officials are urging residents to remain vigilant as the next system approaches, with rivers already at high levels from the previous storm.
