US Army Corps to discuss Mt. St. Helens Sediment Management

The US Army Corps of Engineers is presenting their sediment management progress report on Wednesday, June 23rd at Toutle Lake High School from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. The presentation will be held in the Multi-Purpose room of the High School at 5050 Spirit Lake Hwy in Toutle. Experts will discuss the agency's plans to continue managing the sand and ash debris in the North Fork Toutle River, as well as efforts to maintain reduced flooding risk to the communities along the lower Cowlitz River.

For more information about Corps projects on Mt. St. Helens, go to: http://www.nwp.usace.army.mil/op/srs

NWS Says Rivers High, But No Flood Risk

According to the National Weather Service, the local rivers are much higher than normal, but will remain well below flood stage. See statement below:

..SPECIAL RIVER STATEMENT FOR HIGH LEVELS ON THE LOWER COLUMBIA AND LOWER WILLAMETTE RIVERS...

RIVER LEVELS ON THE LOWER COLUMBIA AND LOWER WILLAMETTE ARE RUNNING HIGH DUE TO RECENT RAINFALL AND SNOWMELT THROUGHOUT THE COLUMBIA AND SNAKE RIVER BASINS IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST.

RIVER STAGES AT PORTLAND...VANCOUVER...ST. HELENS...AND LONGVIEW/KELSO WILL STAY BELOW FLOOD STAGE BUT ARE UNUSUALLY HIGH. THERE MAY BE SOME IMPACTS ON PORT OPERATIONS OR RIVER TRAFFIC...AND SOME LOW AREAS ALONG RIVER REACHES WITH NO LEVEE PROTECTION MAY BE INUNDATED.

RIVER LEVELS ARE EXPECTED TO REMAIN HIGH THROUGH SATURDAY AND THEN DROP 1 TO 2 FEET ON SUNDAY AND GRADUALLY FALL NEXT WEEK.

Sorry to Rain on Your Parade But....

We got a new weather alert from Portland's National Weather Service...it..umm..puts a damper on things, so to speak:

..ANOTHER UNSEASONABLY COOL AND WET WEATHER SYSTEM ON THE WAY...

AFTER ONE RELATIVELY WARM DAY TODAY...SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON AND NORTHWEST OREGON WILL TRANSITION BACK TO COOL...CLOUDY...AND WET WEATHER FOR WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY. SNOW WILL EVENTUALLY BE POSSIBLE IN THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS OF THE CASCADES.

LOW PRESSURE DEVELOPING WELL OFF THE COAST WILL SPREAD RAIN ONSHORE THIS EVENING. ONCE RAIN DEVELOPS...EXPECT STEADY RAIN FOR MUCH OF THE NIGHT AS THIS SYSTEM ONCE AGAIN TAPS INTO A PACIFIC JET STREAM WHICH IS RICH IN MOISTURE. RAINFALL TOTALS UP TO ONE HALF INCH ARE POSSIBLE BY MIDDAY WEDNESDAY IN THE INTERIOR VALLEYS...WITH UP TO AN INCH TO AN INCH AND A HALF IN THE HIGHER TERRAIN.

RAIN WILL TRANSITION TO ON AND OFF SHOWERS THROUGHOUT THE DAY WEDNESDAY. A CLAP OR TWO OF THUNDER IS NOT OUT OF THE QUESTION WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON AS THE AIR MASS BECOMES MORE UNSTABLE. COLDER AIR WILL BE MOVING INTO THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST THROUGH THURSDAY MORNING...WITH TEMPERATURES LIKELY TO FALL TO AROUND 10 DEGREES BELOW EARLY JUNE NORMALS.

THIS SYSTEM WILL ALSO CAUSE SNOW LEVELS TO LOWER TO UNSEASONABLY LOW ELEVATIONS. DURING THE COLDEST PORTION OF THIS EVENT...LATE WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND EARLY THURSDAY...SNOW MAY FALL AS LOW AS THE CASCADE PASSES. ONLY MINOR ACCUMULATIONS ARE EXPECTED AT PASS LEVELS...BUT A FEW INCHES ARE POSSIBLE FOR ELEVATIONS ABOVE 5000 FEET.

CAMPERS...HIKERS...AND OTHERS PARTICIPATING IN OUTDOOR RECREATION IN THE CASCADES SHOULD BE PREPARED FOR MUCH COOLER TEMPERATURES AND CONDITIONS WHICH ARE MORE TYPICAL OF EARLY SPRING. RECENT HIGH ELEVATION SNOW HAS ALSO INCREASED THE AVALANCHE DANGER FOR THE HIGHER ELEVATION PEAKS SUCH AS MOUNT HOOD...MOUNT ST HELENS...
AND MOUNT JEFFERSON.

So sorry to shower you with this lousy forecast. I hate raining down bad news. I've hit my four pun limit, I'm done now.

5 Stages of Weather Grief

Every morning when I check the weather forecast I fall into an ever deepening abyss of rain-soaked depression and malaise. But no more! Let's be done being mad at something we can't change. I went through an accelerated 5 stages of grief while watching the weather this morning. It went a little something like this...

1. Denial – "But it was kinda sunny the other day. This can't be happening, not again, it's JUNE!"
2. Anger – "Are you KIDDING me?! This is ridiculous! Whose fault is this?"
3. Bargaining – "Just one sunny day, please! I'll do anything...just a few hours even."
4. Depression – "I'm not getting out of bed today. What's the point? I hate it here. I quit."
5. Acceptance – "Whatever, the Twilight books/movies made being pale cool, so I guess the lack of sun makes me supercool. Also, I get to keep wearing my favorite sweatshirt, so I guess it's all ok."

Another Weather Alert

From the PDX National Weather Service:

An unusually strong and wet Pacific storm system will impact SW Washington and NW Oregon today. Another Pacific storm expected late Thursday night through Friday morning. This strong late spring Pacific jet stream will aim a band of moisture at our area through Friday with two storms developing throughout this evening.

The first storm will likely drop 1 to 1.5 inches of rain in our area. The heavy rain will also lead to significant rises on rivers in SW Washington tonight. Several rivers have the potential to be near bankfull . Some small streams and urban areas may experience localized flooding.

The storm will also cause quite strong winds for this of year, our area may see wind gusts between 25-35 mph today.

After a brief break on Thursday ANOTHER storm system will arrive later Thursday evening. This storm will bring another wet period Thursday night and Friday morning.

Rain, Rain....

PLEASE go away! Yes, it's true, there's a lot more rain in store. See National Weather Service update below:

There is a strong storm system that will move into northwest Oregon and southwest Washington late this evening and Wednesday (Jun 1-2), that will produce very heavy rainfall during the next 36 hours.

While there is no mainstem river flooding is expected at this time, this storm has tapped into some sub-tropical moisture and has some characteristics of a strong winter storm that may cause localized rural and urban street flooding and sharp rises on smaller creeks, rivers and streams. Strong winds (gusts to 50 mph on Coast and 25-35 mph in valleys) are also possible with this storm.

We want to bring attention to this storm for several reasons listed below:

(1) Unusual storm for springtime (winter-like characteristics).
(2) Heavy rainfall potential (2 to 5 inches in coast/coast range/cascades, 1 to 1.5 inches valleys).
(3) The ground is saturated from recent rains.
(4) Reservoir systems are full.
(5) Rivers, creeks and streams already running higher than normal.

International Festival

Looking for something fun to do this weekend? Come down to the LCC campus and check out the Ethnic Support Council's International Festival this Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. This is the 20th year of the festival and there is a little something for everyone to enjoy! There will be informational booths, free games, prizes, international vendors, live entertainment, delicious food and NO admission fee. Stop by the Department of Emergency Management table and say hello!