Heavy Rain and Gusty Wind Through Wednesday

We've received word from the National Weather Service of some heavy rain and strong winds coming our way. For the most part, it looks like the area hardest hit will be south of the County. None of our rivers are on their list for possible flooding, but we still stand to see some heavy rain and some gusty wind.There is also the possibility of small stream flooding and some pooling of water. 

 

From today to tomorrow morning, we can expect to see 1/2 to 1 inch of rain (1 to 2 inches of rain in the Coast Range and foothills). From tomorrow morning to Wednesday morning, we can expect to see 1 to 2 inches of rain (2 to 4 inches of rain in the Coast Range and foothills). 

 

Leaves on the ground could clog storm drains and lead to urban ponding. If you can do so safely, please make the effort to clear storm drains on your property. 

 

As far as wind, we can expect 20-25 mph winds inland with gusts of 30-40 mph.

Excessive Heat Watch this Weekend

The National Weather Service has issued an excessive heat watch for this weekend. With quite a few events taking place this weekend, I know many of us will be spending lots of time in the sun.

Please read below for what you can expect, and the full text of the heat watch.


..EXCESSIVE HEAT WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM SATURDAY AFTERNOON
THROUGH SATURDAY EVENING FOR THE INTERIOR OF SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON
AND NORTHWEST OREGON...

AN EXCESSIVE HEAT WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM SATURDAY AFTERNOON
THROUGH SATURDAY EVENING.

* TIMING: SATURDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING.

* TEMPERATURE: TEMPERATURES WILL RANGE FROM THE MID 90S TO CLOSE
  TO 100 DEGREES AT LOWER ELEVATIONS...WITH LOWER TO MID 90S IN
  THE COAST RANGE...THE CASCADE FOOTHILLS...THE WESTERN COLUMBIA
  GORGE AND THE UPPER HOOD RIVER VALLEY. AFTER A RATHER MILD
  SUMMER SO FAR...THESE TEMPERATURES WILL BE THE HOTTEST
  TEMPERATURES OF THE YEAR SO FAR AT MANY LOCATIONS. TEMPERATURES
  WILL RECOVER TO THE LOW 60S SATURDAY NIGHT.

* LOCATIONS INCLUDE: VANCOUVER...BATTLE GROUND...CAMAS...
  WASHOUGAL...HOOD RIVER...CASCADE LOCKS...MULTNOMAH FALLS...
  CORBETT...EUGENE...CORVALLIS...ALBANY...VERNONIA...SALEM...
  MCMINNVILLE...SANDY...SWEET HOME...HILLSBORO...PORTLAND...
  OREGON CITY...GRESHAM...TROUTDALE...ST. HELENS...TOUTLE...
  ARIEL...COUGAR...ODELL...COTTAGE GROVE...LONGVIEW...KELSO...
  STEVENSON...SKAMANIA

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

TAKE EXTRA PRECAUTIONS IF YOU WORK OR SPEND TIME OUTSIDE. WHEN
POSSIBLE...RESCHEDULE STRENUOUS ACTIVITIES TO EARLY MORNING OR
EVENING. KNOW THE SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF HEAT EXHAUSTION AND HEAT
STROKE. WEAR LIGHT WEIGHT AND LOOSE FITTING CLOTHING WHEN
POSSIBLE AND DRINK PLENTY OF WATER.

TO REDUCE RISK DURING OUTDOOR WORK THE OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND
HEALTH ADMINISTRATION RECOMMENDS SCHEDULING FREQUENT REST BREAKS
IN SHADED OR AIR CONDITIONED ENVIRONMENTS. ANYONE OVERCOME BY
HEAT SHOULD BE MOVED TO A COOL AND SHADED LOCATION. HEAT STROKE
IS AN EMERGENCY...CALL 9 1 1.

MANY WILL FLOCK TO AREA RIVERS AND STREAMS THIS WEEKEND. MANY OF
THE FATALITIES DURING HOT SPELLS IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST OCCUR
IN AND AROUND WATER. USE EXTRA CAUTION THIS WEEKEND AROUND AREA
WATERWAYS...AND BE SURE TO WEAR A LIFE JACKET. IT CAN SAVE YOUR
LIFE.

www.weather.gov/

Frost Advisory for Tonight

Just when you thought it was starting to look like Summer....

The National Weather Service has issued a frost advisory for tonight. Be sure to bring in any fragile plants.

URGENT - WEATHER MESSAGE...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PORTLAND OR
136 PM PDT WED MAY 9 2012

..CHILLY NIGHT IN STORE FOR SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON AND NORTHWEST
OREGON TONIGHT...

.COOL HIGH PRESSURE FROM THE GULF OF ALASKA IS SETTLING INTO THE
PACIFIC NORTHWEST...BRINGING AN UNSEASONABLE CHILL TO THE AIR FOR
EARLY MAY. SKIES WILL CLEAR IN MOST AREAS SHORTLY AFTER SUNSET.
THE CLEAR SKIES AND LIGHT WINDS WILL PROVIDE OPTIMAL CONDITIONS
FOR COOLING OVERNIGHT. RECORD COOL TEMPERATURES ARE POSSIBLE...
AS TEMPERATURES WILL LIKELY APPROACH THE FREEZING MARK OVERNIGHT
IN THE OUTLYING VALLEYS AWAY FROM METROPOLITAN CENTERS.

ORZ005-WAZ020-022-040-100500-
/O.EXA.KPQR.FR.Y.0001.120510T0700Z-120510T1500Z/
LOWER COLUMBIA-WILLAPA HILLS-I-5 CORRIDOR IN COWLITZ COUNTY-
SOUTH WASHINGTON CASCADE FOOTHILLS-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...ST. HELENS...LONGVIEW...KELSO...
TOUTLE...ARIEL...COUGAR
136 PM PDT WED MAY 9 2012

..FROST ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM MIDNIGHT TONIGHT TO 8 AM PDT
THURSDAY FOR THE LOWER COLUMBIA...THE WILLAPA HILLS...THE
INTERSTATE 5 CORRIDOR IN COWLITZ COUNTY...AND THE SOUTH WASHINGTON
CASCADE FOOTHILLS...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PORTLAND HAS ISSUED A FROST
ADVISORY...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM MIDNIGHT TONIGHT TO 8 AM PDT
THURSDAY.

* TIMING: LATE TONIGHT INTO THURSDAY MORNING.

* TEMPERATURE: LOWER TO MID 30S.

* IMPACTS: SENSITIVE OUTDOOR PLANTS MAY BE KILLED IF LEFT
  UNCOVERED. BUDDING PLANTS AND TREES MAY ALSO BE DAMAGED DUE
  TO NEAR FREEZING OR SUBFREEZING TEMPERATURES.

A FROST ADVISORY IS ISSUED WHEN FROST IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP
DURING THE GROWING SEASON.

St. Helens Spring Burn Period Starts Saturday

Spring residential burn period for St. Helens starts this Saturday (May 5th) and runs through May 20th.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 1, 2012

SPRING BURN PERIOD FOR ST. HELENS RESIDENTS

The spring burn period for residential open burning in the City of St. Helens will begin on the first Saturday in May, running from May 5-20.

Before burning anything in your yard, a burn permit must be obtained through Columbia River Fire & Rescue (CRF&R). Residential burn permits are now available through CRF&R’s website. If you apply for a permit online and provide your email address, an automated renewal notice will be sent to you via email when your permit is about to expire. Burn permits can also be obtained at CRF&R’s Administration Office or at City Hall.

Burn bans may still be in effect even if you have obtained a burn permit. Always check the burn line at 503-397-4800 to find out if it is an open burn day.

Burn permits last for one year from the date of issue.  However, there are only two authorized burn periods within St. Helens city limits, on the first Saturday in May for 16 consecutive days and the third Saturday in October for 16 consecutive days.

Burning grass clippings, plastics, household garbage, petroleum products and rubber products is not allowed. Burning may only be conducted during daylight hours.

For further information regarding the spring burn period, please see the St. Helens Municipal Code Chapter 8.36 online at http://www.codepublishing.com/OR/sthelens/ or contact the Columbia River Fire and Rescue’s Administration Office, at 503-397-2990.

Revised Community Wildfire Protection Plan Available for Review

Revised Community Wildfire Protection Plan available for review. Changes are in red. Please send comments to Columbia County Emergency Management by May 31, 2012. Thanks!

See http://www.co.columbia.or.us/files/emergency%20management/CWPP_Revised_April2012_PublicReview.pdf

All-Time Snowfall Records Fall Across Western Oregon & SW Washington

By Steve Pierce, President, Oregon Chapter of the American Meteorological Society

Vancouver, Washington (March 22nd 2012) - "Many cities across Western Oregon and Southwest Washington are setting all-time cold and snowfall records for this late in the season. Since Tuesday night, the Willamette Valley has been blanketed with anywhere from 2" to 9" of snow from Vancouver, WA. south to Eugene, Oregon. Since Tuesday evening, many all-time March snowfall and temperature records have been broken up and down the Willamette Valley at airport locations. Portland, Salem, Eugene and Vancouver, WA. airports all set new coldest daytime high temperature records on Wednesday in addition to setting new all-time records for the heaviest snowfall this late in the season. Eugene, Oregon easily broke their maximum daily precipitation record for Wednesday with 1.92 inches with equated to a record setting 7.5" of snowfall on Wednesday."

"The Portland International Airport recorded 0.5" of snowfall overnight last night which sets a new all-time record for that location. March 22nd 2012 will now go down in the record books as the latest measurable snowfall in Portland Airport history. The period of record at the Portland airport is 1940-2012. The previous latest snowfall on record for the Portland airport was set on March 15th 1946. The excellent staff at the Portland office of the National Weather Service have reviewed daily records that previously indicated both March 20th 1995 and March 25th 1965 as the latest dates for measurable snowfall in Portland. These reports were in fact hail, not snow! Hail was often reported under the snow column on the record sheets. Looking even further back, downtown Portland records indicate that as much as 5" of snow fell in the first week of April in 1936. Records in downtown Portland date back to 1872. It is hard to believe that spring break is just 24 hours away for Oregon students."

Urban and Small Stream Flood Advisory in Effect

Urban and Small Stream Flood Advisory in effect for southwest Columbia County until 5:30 PM tomorrow. If you see standing water while driving, don't risk it. Turn around. Don't drown.

Here are the full details of the advisory:

FLOOD ADVISORY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PORTLAND OR
1143 AM PDT THU MAR 15 2012

ORC003-007-009-039-041-053-057-067-071-160030-
/O.NEW.KPQR.FA.Y.0006.120315T1843Z-120316T0030Z/
/00000.N.RS.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.OO/
LANE OR-TILLAMOOK OR-CLATSOP OR-COLUMBIA OR-WASHINGTON OR-YAMHILL OR-
POLK OR-BENTON OR-LINCOLN OR-
1143 AM PDT THU MAR 15 2012

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PORTLAND HAS ISSUED AN

* URBAN AND SMALL STREAM FLOOD ADVISORY FOR RAIN AND POOR DRAINAGE
IN...
NORTHWESTERN WASHINGTON COUNTY IN NORTHWEST OREGON...
SOUTHERN CLATSOP COUNTY IN NORTHWEST OREGON...
SOUTHERN COLUMBIA COUNTY IN NORTHWEST OREGON...
TILLAMOOK COUNTY IN NORTHWEST OREGON...
WESTERN YAMHILL COUNTY IN NORTHWEST OREGON...
LINCOLN COUNTY IN WESTERN OREGON...
NORTHWESTERN LANE COUNTY IN WESTERN OREGON...
WESTERN BENTON COUNTY IN WESTERN OREGON...
WESTERN POLK COUNTY IN WESTERN OREGON...

* UNTIL 530 PM PDT.

* AT 1137 AM PDT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR AND TRAINED SPOTTERS HAVE REPORTED VERY HEAVY RAIN THIS MORNING ALONG THE COAST AND COAST RANGE. WEBCAMS INDICATE FLOODING OVER US 101 NEAR SEASIDE...WITH MANY SMALL STREAMS ALONG THE COAST AND COAST RANGE IN OR ABOVE BANKFULL.

WHILE PRECIPITATION IS EXPECTED TO EASE SOMEWHAT THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING...RAIN SHOWERS ARE EXPECTED TO CONTINUE...KEEPING STREAMS RUNNING HIGH.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

EXCESSIVE RUNOFF FROM HEAVY RAINFALL WILL CAUSE PONDING OF WATER ON HIGHWAYS...STREETS AND UNDERPASSES...IN URBAN AREAS WITH POOR OR OVERWHELMED DRAINAGE...AND WILL ALSO CAUSE ELEVATED LEVELS ON SMALL CREEKS AND STREAMS.

DO NOT DRIVE YOUR VEHICLE INTO AREAS WHERE THE WATER COVERS THE ROADWAY. THE WATER DEPTH MAY BE TOO GREAT TO ALLOW YOUR CAR TO CROSS SAFELY. MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND.

Snow May Resume Tonight (3/13) Through Tomorrow Morning

NOAA has issued a winter weather advisory from 3 AM tonight into noon tomorrow for certain areas of the county. Please read the full text of the advisory below.

...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 3 AM TO NOON PDT
WEDNESDAY FOR THE WILLAPA HILLS OF SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON AND THE
NORTH OREGON COAST RANGE...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PORTLAND HAS ISSUED A WINTER
WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SNOW...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 3 AM TO NOON
PDT WEDNESDAY.

* TIMING...SNOW WILL DEVELOP LATE TONIGHT AND CONTINUE THROUGH
WEDNESDAY MORNING.

* SNOW ACCUMULATION...IN THE WILLAPA HILLS EXPECT 2 TO 5 INCHES OF
NEW SNOW. IN THE NORTH OREGON COAST RANGE EXPECT 2 TO 4 INCHES
OF NEW SNOW.

* SNOW LEVELS...BELOW 1000 FEET EARLY WEDNESDAY WILL RISE TO ABOVE
2500 FEET BY NOON WEDNESDAY.

* IMPACTS...ROADS WILL BECOME SNOW COVERED AND ICY...CREATING
HAZARDOUS DRIVING CONDITIONS.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SNOW MEANS THAT PERIODS OF SNOW
WILL CAUSE PRIMARILY TRAVEL DIFFICULTIES. BE PREPARED FOR SNOW
COVERED ROADS AND LIMITED VISIBILITIES...AND USE CAUTION WHILE
DRIVING.

Snow Possible Tonight (3/12) into Tomorrow Morning (3/13)

The National Weather Service has issued a special weather statement regarding the possibility of snow at levels as low as 500 feet.

Please read below for the full statement.

ORZ001-005>009-014-WAZ021>023-039-131900-
NORTH OREGON COAST-LOWER COLUMBIA-GREATER PORTLAND METRO AREA- CENTRAL WILLAMETTE VALLEY-SOUTH WILLAMETTE VALLEY- WESTERN COLUMBIA RIVER GORGE-UPPER HOOD RIVER VALLEY- SOUTH WASHINGTON COAST-I-5 CORRIDOR IN COWLITZ COUNTY- GREATER VANCOUVER AREA- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...ASTORIA...CANNON BEACH...TILLAMOOK...
ST. HELENS...CLATSKANIE...HILLSBORO...PORTLAND...OREGON CITY... GRESHAM...SALEM...MCMINNVILLE...DALLAS...EUGENE...CORVALLIS... ALBANY...HOOD RIVER...CASCADE LOCKS...MULTNOMAH FALLS... PARKDALE...ODELL...RAYMOND...LONG BEACH...CATHLAMET...LONGVIEW... KELSO...CASTLE ROCK...STEVENSON...SKAMANIA...VANCOUVER... BATTLE GROUND...WASHOUGAL

...LOW SNOW LEVELS VERY LATE MONDAY NIGHT AND TUESDAY MORNING IN THE LOWER ELEVATIONS OF SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON AND NORTHWEST OREGON...

IN THE WAKE OF THE VERY STRONG PACIFIC FRONTAL SYSTEM THAT WAS MOVING THROUGH ON MONDAY...COLDER AIR WILL SPREAD IN AND WILL BRING ANOTHER ROUND OF VERY LOW SNOW LEVELS TO THE LOWER ELEVATIONS OF SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON AND NORTHWEST OREGON VERY LATE MONDAY NIGHT AND ON TUESDAY MORNING.

SNOW LEVELS COULD GET CLOSE TO 500 FEET OR LOWER TUESDAY MORNING... AND POSSIBLY CLOSE TO THE VALLEY FLOOR IN BRIEF HEAVIER SHOWERS. AMOUNTS AT HIGHER ELEVATIONS AROUND THE VALLEY SUCH AS THE WEST HILLS OF PORTLAND COULD SEE SOME ONE OR LOCALLY TWO INCH ACCUMULATIONS. AMOUNTS AT THE VALLEY FLOOR SHOULD BE SPOTTY AND LIGHTER.

Do you Want to Participate in Columbia County Emergency Management?

The following committees have openings for citizen participation (March 2012):

HSEMC - Homeland Security Emergency Management Commission - Advising Board of County Commissioners and Director of County's Emergency Management department on homeland security and emergency management issues. Mid County Cities alternate representative (Vernonia - Mist area) and Industry alternate representative vacancies. Commission meets monthly.

ASA - Ambulance Service Advisory Committee - overseeing ambulance service providers performance criteria. Local physician and Citizen member vacancies. Committee meets quarterly.

Contact Columbia County Emergency Management Department to learn more.