Powerful rain storm due overnight

Worn out on rain?

Despite 17 consecutive days of measurable rainfall in Vancouver, forecasters say we haven’t seen anything yet. A powerful Pacific storm was poised to arrive overnight with strong winds and as much as 1 1/2 inches of rain over 36 hours.

“This is typically more like what we’d see in November or December,” said Tyree Wilde, warning coordination meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Portland.

Forecasters say the storm will dump as much as 5 inches of rain in the Coast Range, and heavy precipitation will fall as rain as high as 8,000 feet in the Cascade Range — making life dangerous and difficult during the height of the climbing season.

“It’s a very unusual storm system for June,” Wilde said. “There’s a very strong jet stream with it. Also, it has tapped some tropical moisture. When it gets in here, it’s going to wring out some precipitation.”

Urban flooding could be an issue, especially if falling leaves and debris clog storm drains. Saturated soils and leafed-out trees could result in falling limbs during the storm, Wilde said.

After the first storm peters out, he said, another one will arrive on Friday.