Significant National Weather

A strong cold front will move into the coastal areas of the Pacific Northwest today. The Oregon headlands will see wind gusts up to 80mph while the ridge tops of the Sierras will see gusts up to 125 mph. Rain is expected from Washington to the northern San Joaquin Valley of Central California. An additional 6 to 8 inches of rain is forecast in the Olympic Peninsula while the rest of western Washington through the San Francisco Bay area may see rain totals of an inch or more.

The Cascades and the northern half of the Sierra Nevada will see heavy snow and gusty
winds; the strong winds will reach as far east as Idaho, Nevada and Utah. The storm will weaken on Saturday as it moves eastward through the Great Basin to the northern and central Rockies and mountain snow and gusty winds are expected. A second cold front will arrive Saturday night into Sunday, bringing more rain and snow from Washington, Oregon, and northern California to western sections of Montana and Wyoming.

A third cold front will move into Washington and Oregon early next week.

Elevated Weather Alerts for Oregon

Today the National Weather Service has elevated the weather alerts for the incoming storm. There are more than a dozen alerts, and you can see them at http://www.weather.gov/alerts-beta/or.php?x=1

Here are the highlights:

▪ Surf advisory with breaker heights as high as 25-28 feet. Storm surge combined with the near-maximum lunar high tide will cause beach erosion and riptides farther inland then normal.
▪ Coastal winds 45-55MPH with gusts up to 85 MPH. Winds have already been reported to 80+MPH in certain areas.
▪ Inland winds are expected to be 25-35 MPH with gusts up to 45 MPH.
▪ Rainfall of 3-5 inches in northwest Oregon near the Willapa hills and North Oregon Coast Range.
▪ The Nehalem River is under flood watch, as well as urban streams in the northwest corner of Oregon.
▪ Oregon Coast is under flood watch due to heavy rains

Columbia River Protected by Weakened Wall

A pair of jetties, jutting into the boiling Pacific from the north and south edges of the river’s 2-mile-wide mouth, stand as thin lines of defense against the bar’s worst instincts. The jetties tamp down waves from the ocean. They also serve as a barricade against beach sand that would otherwise quickly clog the relatively narrow shipping channel and close the gateway to ports more than 100 miles upriver in Vancouver and Portland.

Battered by storms, the jetties originally constructed from huge boulders mined in Camas are now eroding away.

The government bought some time with a series of repairs beginning four years ago, but that was only temporary. “It’s already deteriorating pretty badly,” Torjusen said. Meanwhile, the risk of a jetty breach increases with each winter storm.

Maintaining the jetties is imperative.

Together, they serve as the Columbia’s front gate, welcoming 2,000 ships per year — nearly 500 bound for Vancouver — and billions of dollars worth of trade. When the bar shuts down, it freezes a conveyer belt of commerce from the ships that enter the river to barges and trains carrying grain from as far as Kansas.

“It’s a little frightening to know that if one of those jetties failed, it would all stop very quickly,” said Larry Paulson, the Port of Vancouver’s executive director.

Next month, the Army Corps of Engineers will unveil a rehabilitation plan involving the placement of a million tons of Volkswagen-sized rocks, as well as several perpendicular rock “groins” designed to shore up the jetties’ sand foundations. Repairs will cost hundreds of millions of dollars.

Click the link to find out more about this project.

http://www.theworldlink.com/articles/2009/10/26/news/doc4ae60d0c3f13a123963224.txt

NWS Issues Special Weather Statement for Oregon

The National Weather Service issued a special weather statement today for Northern Oregon and Southern Washington. Heavy rain is expected over the next 48 hours, bringing between 1 and 5 inches depending upon location.

Rivers are not expected to flood, but heavy rains in the coastal range often cause mudslides and localized flooding of streams. We recommend the following:

Make sure your emergency kit is ready and you have extra food and water, especially if you are in a remote location and can be stranded by flooding or slides

Pay attention to nearby hills and streams in the event of a mudslide or flood

If you do drive in the heavy rain, drive slowly and avoid standing water - pools of dirty water are usually much deeper then they appear.

If you have to go out on foot, do not ever attempt to cross running flood waters or mud slides, they are very dangerous and can wash away anyone.

http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/total_forecast/getprod.php?wfo=pqr&sid=PQR&pil=SPS

Statement as of 2:29 PM PDT on October 15, 2009

... Heavy rain expected Friday night and Saturday...

An unusually wet early season system is expected to dump
several inches of rain over the area early this weekend. The bulk
of the rain will fall from late Friday afternoon through Saturday
as the system taps into a tropical air mass. Models are in
agreement on bringing the front onshore and then stalling it...
although details on where the heaviest rain will fall are still
evolving. As the front stalls the system will usher in a warm and
moist air mass and consequently wring it out over northwest
Oregon and southwest Washington. Rainfall accumulations are
expected to be 2 to 5 inches in the Coast Range... 1 to 2 inches
northern portions of Willamette Valley... 2 to 4 inches in the
South Washington and north Oregon Cascades... and around an inch
elsewhere.

Since this system is coming early in the year when rivers are near
their Summer lows... river flooding should not be much of a
concern. However... local areas may see higher than expected
accumulations and therefore local flooding of small streams
remains a possibility. Remember to maintain a higher awareness
level and keep informed on this developing scenario.

Monitor NOAA Weather Radio or weather.Gov/Portland for the latest
information... forecasts... and warnings.

Tsunami warning system test

Tsunami warning-system test set for Washington, Oregon, California this morning
The National Weather Service is testing its tsunami-warning system this morning in Washington, Oregon and California.
By Susan Gilmore
Seattle Times staff reporter

The National Weather Service tested its tsunami-warning system this morning along the West Coast to make sure the alert system was working.
The test message was designated for coastal communities throughout western Washington.
At the same time, the Weather Service used the alert as an earthquake drill for some schools and businesses.

Normally, the alert would say the magnitude of an earthquake, where it occurred and whether a tsunami was likely, said Jeff Michalski with the National Weather Service. But today's test will only ask if the alert was received, Michalski said.

"This is a test transmission for dissemination of tsunami information," he said.
The Weather Service broadcast the test alert through its Emergency Alert System (EAS) on NOAA radio.

The earthquake drill was statewide in a joint effort with Washington State Emergency Management.

There are more than 1,000 NOAA Weather Radio stations across the nation with 22 serving Washington state. More than 96 percent of the state's population is served by NOAA Weather Radio.

In 1975, NOAA Weather Radio was designated the sole government-operated radio system to provide warning information for both natural and technological hazards.

FEMA news release - Wildfires

29 July 2009
Contact: Mike Howard (425) 487-4610
Press Release No.: 09-71News Release

WHEN WILDFIRES RAGE: PREPARE, STAY INFORMED AND EVACUATE IF DIRECTED

SEATTLE –Sustained record-breaking temperatures have raised wildfire hazards throughout the Pacific Northwest. With wildfires burning in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington state, FEMA Acting Regional Administrator Dennis Hunsinger encourages at-risk residents to prepare for the worst, stay informed on local conditions and evacuate if instructed to by fire or emergency management officials.

“Fires can start and spread quickly, and it is essential that people living on wooded lots or wildland/urban interface areas take action now to protect their homes and properties,” said Hunsinger. “The time to discuss wildfire warnings and evacuation strategies with your local forestry and emergency management officials is before wildfires rage. Stay in the loop, follow developments, and evacuate if instructed to.”

FEMA recommends that residents take specific action before an evacuation is necessary, clearing flammable materials from around the home, keeping roofs and gutters clear of pine needles and debris and ensuring that house numbers are visible and driveways allow access to firefighting vehicles.

Another important step that FEMA recommends is preparing an evacuation kit. Items should be put in a container that can be easily loaded into a vehicle for a quick departure. Items to include:
Flashlight
Battery-powered radio with additional batteries
First aid kit
Medicines, prescriptions and eye glasses
Water (at least one gallon per person and enough for three days for each person in the household)
Change of clothing
Sleeping bags and pillows
Cash and credit cards

It is also smart to keep important personal documents quickly available should you need to evacuate. Consider collecting your driver’s license, passport and other identification, birth and marriage certificates, Social Security card, insurance policies, tax records, wills, deed or lease and stocks and bonds. Also, know where your main turn-off switches are for electricity, water and gas.

FEMA also recommends that family members discuss how to contact one another if the wildfire comes near when family members are separated. Discuss evacuation routes and identify relatives or friends outside the immediate area that can be contacted. Finally, make sure your pets have collars and identification tags and take your pets with you if you need to evacuate. While some shelters won’t accept pets, an increasing number of communities are organizing pet shelters when large evacuations are necessary. Check with your local Humane Society, animal shelter or veterinarian.

For more information on protecting your family and your home from wildfires, go to http://www.fema.gov/, or http://www.ready.gov/.

FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.
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