Hold on -- again; big storm brewin' for Thursday
Wednesday, December 13, 2006 6:26 AM PST
By Don Jenkins
Printable version
E-mail this articleAnother winter storm brewing in the Pacific Ocean and characterized by the National Weather Service as potentially dangerous is expected to barrel through Southwest Washington late Thursday, bringing heavy rain, high seas and possibly the swiftest winds of the season.
"We're going to get a little of everything," government meteorologist Tyree Wilde said Tuesday. "We don't see this strong of a system every year. People should monitor the weather and think about being prepared."
Forecasters Tuesday afternoon were still a day away from predicting exact wind speeds. But they anticipated Thursday's storm will be more potent than a separate storm that was expected to reach the southern Washington coast late Tuesday and bring wind gusts of 75 mph to the beaches and 60 mph to coastal communities.
Winds were expected to subside by midmorning today but pick up again late Thursday, when sustained wind speeds could be 40 mph inland overnight, Wilde said. "We're going to see very, very strong winds on the coast certainly. There is the potential for damaging winds."
The fast-moving storm is expected to take roughly the same path as November storms that dropped record amounts of rain on the Longview-Kelso area. The storm should be over the region for 12 to 16 hours, Wilde said.
"It will move through pretty quickly. That's the saving grace."
The weather service Tuesday issued a high surf advisory and warned beach visitors to watch out for logs and other debris washing ashore. Waves of 30 to 40 feet are possible for Thursday night and Friday morning, according to the weather service.
Forecasters expect cold air will move in behind the storm, dropping temperatures Friday and Saturday and lowering the snow level to 1,000 feet.
Heavy rain pounded the Longview-Kelso area Monday evening. Nearly two-tenths of an inch fell at the Kelso airport between 9 and 10 p.m.
The weather service warned Tuesday that the incoming storms could cause flooding, particularly along the coast, though the Cowlitz River at Kelso and Castle Rock, and the Columbia River at Longview were expected to remain well below flood stage.
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