No end in sight for the Pacific Northwest after record wet January for some

There will be little rest for storm-weary residents of the northwestern United States following a January that featured tremendous amounts of rain and snow.

A strong Pacific jet stream aimed at the Northwest throughout January is to blame for bringing storm after storm into the region.

The first weekend in February picked up right where January left off as a new storm brought additional round of soaking rain and heavy mountain snow through Sunday.

Constant rain has saturated the ground across much of the Pacific Northwest this past month, resulting in landslides across the region. A portion of Interstate 5 in Whatcom County, Washington was closed for a time Saturday after mud, trees and other debris covered the roadway.

Heavy rain and saturated soil led to a landslide that closed the northbound lanes of Interstate 5 on Saturday. Photo Credit: WSDOT

Outside of stray snow showers in the high country, the Northwest will get a brief reprieve from stormy weather as the storm spreads cold and snow southeastward into the Rockies through Monday and Monday night.

Along with the drier air will be a chill across interior portions of the Northwest as temperatures drop below normal.

"After a brief break from nearly constant precipitation, another injection of moisture will be delivered to the Pacific Northwest by midweek," AccuWeather Meteorologist Mary Gilbert said.

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A storm system is forecast to move into the area with milder air and soaking rain late on Tuesday.

"Yet another round of heavy rain is in store for much of western Washington state, an area already struggling with river flooding," Gilbert said.

Round after round of heavy rainfall is likely to stream into the region into late week, creating a high risk for flooding and mudslides.

The milder conditions will push snow levels much higher than Saturday's storm, resulting in increased snowmelt at the intermediate elevations and another surge of water entering area rivers.

"These rounds of stormy weather will work to add stress to rivers already flowing much above normal," Gilbert said.

"Minor to moderate flooding is expected for portions of the Snoqualmie and Snohomish rivers due to the rain and increased snowmelt," she added.

It may take until the second weekend of February for a lengthier stretch of quieter weather to finally settle over the Northwest.

Nearly 300 inches of snow fell at Mt. Baker in Washington through Jan. 30. The record for most snow in a month is 304 inches during February 1999.

Spokane, Washington, recorded 24 days of measurable rainfall (0.01 of an inch or greater) during January, which fell just shy of the month's record of 26 days set in 1890.

Several other cities, including Seattle, tied or set new records for the number of rainy days in January.

January 2020 became the all-time wettest month for the entire calendar year in Forks, Washington, with 30.78 inches of rainfall.

Quillayute, Washington, set a new record for most precipitation in the month with 30.78 inches. This smashed the prior record of 24.02 inches set in 2006. Monroe, Washington, fell around an inch shy of breaking their January 2006 mark of 11.65 inches.

The United States Geological Survey streamflow data across Washington shows the result of the continuously wet pattern, especially for areas along and west of the Cascades, with many area gauges reporting flow in the 90th percentile or higher.

Gauges at the Snohomish, Skykomish and the Stillaguamish rivers all reported major flooding, the floodwaters crested at major floodstage by Saturday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service's Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service. The water levels have since receded following a lull in the rainfall.

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