Atmospheric river brings ‘one-two punch’ of rain, wind, possible floods to Western Washington

Atmospheric river brings ‘one-two punch’ of rain, wind, possible floods to Western Washington Stephen Howie December 08, 2025 / 2:57 pm

A powerful atmospheric river sweeping across the Pacific Northwest this week is expected to dump more than a foot of rain and snow in the North Cascades and Olympics and cause major flooding in rivers that flow down from the mountains.

Kirby Cook, science and operations officer with the National Weather Service in Seattle, said forecasters are expecting two waves of water — one lasting through Monday and into Tuesday morning and a second wave Tuesday evening through Wednesday.

“It’s sort of a one-two punch for precipitation,” Cook said.

The three-day total could add up to 15 inches or more in the mountains, where freezing levels remain around 7,