First Snow, Now Rain

Today we got hit with a Pineapple Express. That is, instead of the cool arctic air coming down from the Great White North, we get warm, moist air from the central Pacific.

So not only are we getting rained on, but the Christmas Snow is now melting. This double-whammy is causing the rivers to rise throughout the state.

The Washington State National Guard deployed some of its troops to help out Spokane County, which is still buried under a record amount of snowfall. Last I heard the county had 29 roofs collapse due to the weight of, now wet and melting snow.

More guardsmen were suppose to deploy to Lewis county which is experiencing the most flooding so far. However, they couldn't roll out because numerous road closures.Here's just one story from the Seattle Times:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008599426_webweather07m.html

By the way, 20 miles of I-5 is now closed.

Here's the meteorological definition of a Pineapple Express:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pineapple_Express