While flooding may not reach the historic levels seen last week, a KIRO 7 meteorologist said the overall impacts could actually be worse.

Some rivers may break records. Already, overnight into Tuesday, the Naselle River near Naselle, Washington, has gone from its normal 5 foot depth to nearly 20 feet deep, growing by 10 feet in 12 hours and coming within less than 1 foot of the historical record.

The arrival of the next atmospheric river in Eastern Washington will be preceded by strong winds in the Tri-Cities. An atmospheric river is a flowing column of condensed water vapor in the atmosphere, in this case bringing warm air and moisture from the Pacific Ocean.

What is it about mid-December weather? The latest atmospheric river has brought warm, heavy rain, resulting in widespread major flooding and landslides.

Record river flooding is ongoing in parts of Washington State, but following a drier weekend, a new worry for wetter weather will arise early in the week ahead.

Oregon is in for several days of heavy rain, strong winds and rising rivers as two atmospheric river surges push across the state through midweek.

Another atmospheric river will bring an active weather pattern to the Inland Northwest this week. Today, we will see heavy mountain rain, valley showers, high winds, and potentially record breaking temperatures.

November was a somewhat dry month for Portland at just 4.67 inches. During an average November, the airport gets about 5.55 inches of rain. For comparison, during an average December, the airport gets about 5.77 inches of precipitation. Atmospheric river shifts northward. Wednesday brings Portland lighter rain, gusty winds Dec. 10, 2025, 5:42 a.m.

The Skagit River is predicted to crest at more than 47 feet near the town of Concrete, north of Seattle, 15 inches above the threshold for a major flooding event.

The wording and definition were changed and refined a bit as atmospheric scientists at MIT studied these storms in the 1970s.

Certain areas south of Seattle and east of the Green River were ordered to evacuate after a levee was breached in Tukwila, Washington on Monday, Dec. 15.