Washington Emergency

On Christmas Eve, Washington State Gov. Chris Gregoire proclaimed a state of emergency due to the weather and storms across the state.

"Snowfall has reached record or near-record level in 30 of the state's 39 counties," Gregoire said in a statement. "Many communities, especially in eastern Washington, are expecting as much as a foot or more of additional snow this holiday weekend.

"This proclamation will enable the state to respond quickly to local requests for emergency support and assistance arising from these new storms."

Things could go from real bad to really terrible for Washington State. Oregon is looking at 2-3 inches of rainfall over the weekend--with the snow level ABOVE the pass levels! WOW--that could cause real headline floods throughout the Oregon. I'd reckon Washington could be in line for some of the same. OUCH!

Here's The Portland Christmas discussion:

WHAT IS BECOMING MORE CLEAR HOWEVER IS THAT THE PRECIPITATION AMOUNTS THE COAST RANGE AND CASCADES ARE LIKELY TO RECEIVE WILL BE RATHER HIGH. MODELS SHOW EXTENDED PERIODS OF 20-40KT OF WESTERLY MID LEVEL FLOW FROM SATURDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH TUESDAY. RIGHTFULLY SO...MODELS SHOW UPWARDS OF 2 TO 3 INCHES OF QPF DURING THIS TIME PERIOD. THE RAIN/SNOW LINE SHOULD BE ABOVE PASS LEVELS THIS WEEKEND AND EARLY NEXT WEEK...SO LOW LEVEL SNOW WILL NOT BE AN ISSUE. HOWEVER...THE SKI RESORTS COULD END UP WITH A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF SNOW...POSSIBLY 2-3 FEET.