Strong storm soaks records, brings problems

SEATTLE- Drenching sheets of rain and gusty winds. Downed power lines and customers in the dark in portions of Western Washington. The strongest storm of the fall so far brought problems to the Pacific Northwest yesterday. Q13 FOX Traffic Reporter Adam Gehrke says there were 45 accidents on the roadways around the Puget Sound on what became a wild Wednesday morning commute. Two of those accidents involved jack-knifed semi trucks that were blocking lanes of Interstate 5 in both Seattle and Tacoma at times. The evening commute didn't fare much better with lots of standing water on roadways all around the region.

New one day rainfall records for October 22nd were broken in Washington and Oregon. The wettest spot was along the Washington Coast.
2.44" Quillyute/Forks, WA
1.88" Portland Int'l
1.70" Vancouver, WA
1.43" Olympia
1.39" Seattle at NOAA Headquarters at Sand Point
1.26" SeaTac Int'l

Heavy rain in the Olympic Mountains have raised river levels in the flood-prone Skokomish River in Mason County, where a flood warning remains in effect. The National Weather Service office in Seattle is watching other rivers with high water levels,. including the Stillaguamish River which had its course altered from the massive landslide last rainy season near the town of Oso.

We are in a very active weather pattern currently. While today we'll see heavy on/off rain showers, we're likely to see more soaking rain on Saturday and again next Tuesday. Welcome to the rainy season.

-Tim Joyce, Q13 FOX Meteorologist