Now, another atmospheric river is set to unleash additional heavy rains and flooding in the already-waterlogged area starting Wednesday, preceding a second event that will begin late Friday and continue into the weekend.
The next downpours are expected to arrive with some roads in British Columbia still closed and just as some displaced residents return home.
Tyler Hamilton, a meteorologist for the Weather Network, a cable weather channel in Canada, called computer model precipitation forecasts for British Columbia “disconcerting,” writing in a tweet that incoming moisture would solidify “one of the wettest Novembers in recorded history.”
Predicted precipitation in Washington state is likely to be less intense but still potentially problematic.
“Given we’ve been so damp and potentially we’ll see another system affecting similar areas Saturday and Sunday, there could be issues,” said Jacob DeFlitch, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Seattle.
The Weather Service in Seattle wrote in a discussion that some rivers from King County northward could experience flooding Thursday night into Friday and again Saturday.