5-day series of rain storms hitting Washington (INTERACTIVE)

SEATTLE (AP) — The National Weather Service says the rain falling Thursday in Washington is the first of a series of storms headed for the Northwest over five days.



Forecasters say the atmospheric river will hit the region in waves with short lulls in between.

The five-day rain totals are expected to add up to 10 to 13 inches in the Olympics and Cascades and 1 to 4 inches in the western Washington lowlands.

The lulls are expected to allow rivers to carry the runoff without flooding, except perhaps for the Skokomish River, which frequently floods.

The Weather Service says above-normal temperatures will push the snow levels in the mountain to as high as 7,000 feet at times.