The Pacific Northwest state of Washington and the Canadian province of British Columbia have seen more rain in the past two weeks than they normally see for the entire month of November.
The current Category 5 atmospheric river taking aim at the region is on the exact same track as the last event several days ago. This system is bringing extreme rainfall, river flooding, damaging winds, and even landslides to the region.
In British Columbia, there is currently no way to drive between Vancouver and the rest of Canada, reports Kelowna Now. The Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley are now completely cut off from the rest of British Columbia and the country by road.
DriveBC tweeted Monday morning that Highway 99 was closed after a mudslide roughly 42 kilometers south of Lillooet, a community on the Fraser River north of Vancouver.
According to Global News, there is no way to estimate when Highway 99 may reopen, due to the ongoing situation. Conditions were expected to improve starting Tuesday.
Washington state is also seeing highway closures due to the extreme weather. The storm’s high winds knocked out power to at least 170,000 customers in Washington and tens of thousands in B.C., causing evacuations, and closing schools, according to the Washington Post.
The National Weather Service office in Seattle noted, “Record-breaking flooding is forecast for the Skagit River at Mount Vernon,” north of Seattle. Some parts of the Olympic peninsula have seen 6 or 7 inches, and even parts of the Cascades have seen 4-6 inches as well.
