Brace yourself for an autumn onset of blustery weather.
Even as buckets of rain doused the coast range, Vancouver remained mostly dry throughout the day Monday.
By Monday night, a 911 dispatcher said winds from earlier in the day had died down. As of 9 p.m., the dispatcher and Mick Schutt, spokesman for Clark Public Utilities, had heard of no major problems from the weather.
However, forecasters don’t expect our luck to hold out for long.
Specific storm tracks will vary, but the pattern is clear: We’re going to get wet.
“The Pacific Northwest is going to be affected by a series of pretty strong storm systems as we go through this week,” Andy Bryant, with the National Weather Service in Portland, said Monday evening. “For the next seven days anyhow, it looks wet and blustery.”
Late Monday night, winds in Clark County hit 45 mph, weather expert Steve Pierce said. But the coast was battered by gusts as high as 89 mph as of 5 p.m. Wind and rain were expected to intensify overnight in the Portland-Vancouver area.
Another rain system is due to hit Clark County on Thursday morning and is expected to last into Friday — and still another likely will arrive on Saturday, another NWS official said Monday night.
Forecasters warned of areas of urban flooding, especially as fall foliage clogs storm drains in streets. Streams could spill their banks, but forecasters don’t expect rivers to flood in Clark or Skamania counties.
After recording a high temperature of 62 on Monday, Vancouver will cool down considerably today. High temperatures throughout the week will be in the upper 40s or low 50s.
