Second deluge hits Portland, Oregon metro area; floods, closures reported

http://www.kgw.com/story/news/local/2015/12/07/hours-steady-rain-create-chaotic-commute/76925970/

Dec. 8, 2015

After rain flooded the Portland metro area Monday, causing widespread damage, heavy rain and winds returned to the area Tuesday afternoon.

The heaviest rain Tuesday was expected during the evening commute. Closures and flooding were already reported by mid-afternoon.

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More rain was forecast through Thursday evening. The National Weather Service issued a Flood Watch for most of northwest Oregon and southwest Washington through Wednesday afternoon.

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PBOT spokesman Dylan Rivera called the weather an "extraordinary event that had extraordinary impacts."

By Monday evening, Portland saw more than 5.6 inches of rain for the month of December (thru Dec. 7), with more than 3 inches in a 24-hour period, Rivera said. The December average for rainfall in the metro area is 5.49 inches. [So more than 31 days of rain has already fallen in 7 days.]

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The pouring rain triggered landslides, forced people to abandon their cars and caused widespread flooding on Monday. Johnson Creek flooded in Portland and Milwaukie, sending water surging over bridges and into roads.

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One landslide (pictured above) forced an afternoon closure along Southeast Foster Road, at 155th Avenue. Another blocked traffic during the morning commute along Northwest Cornell Road. In the Columbia River Gorge, a landslide blocked Corbett Hill Road, between Interstate 84 and the Historic Columbia River Highway.

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tags: severe weather, extreme weather