12.5.2007 11:19 AM

5 Dead in Pac. Northwest as Fierce Storm Moves On

Washington and Oregon Flooded; Storm Turns to Snow in Plains

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An image showing rainfall across the Pacific Northwest.

This image shows rainfall totals as measured by satellite, with the highest totals in shades of red.

Photo: NASA

By Dan Shapley

Washington and Oregon were in states of emergency after an unusually fierce coastal storm killed at least five, flooded towns and cut power to tens of thousands. Accuweather put the death toll at seven.

A series of storms hit Oregon and Washington between Nov. 28 and Dec. 4, some with hurricane-force winds of up to 120 mph. Floods and landslides closed roads, isolated communities and cut power across the region, with the heaviest rainfall coming to the Olympic Peninsula of Washington.

The storm now is moving on across the Rockies and into the Great Plains, where it is expected to drop snow.

The storm coincided with a report that implicated global warming in the increase in severe rainstorms experienced across the United States. That frequency of stronger storms has increased 24% since 1948, according to the analysis.

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