Rain and wind slam Northwest, knocking out power, blocking roads

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Hurricane-force winds and heavy rain battered the Northwest for a second day Monday, killing at least two people and leaving entire communities dark and isolated as the storms blocked roads with trees, power lines, high water and mud.

Dozens of people stranded by flood waters required rescue as the second of two storms blew through, and Oregon transportation officials warned drivers not to attempt passage through the Coast Range.

"This storm is hitting the coast so hard, it's not leaving any road open," Transportation Department spokeswoman Christine Miles said.

The first wave of severe weather in the Northwest, which hit Sunday, was expected to reach the upper Midwest with snow today, the National Weather Service said.

The governors of Washington and Oregon declared states of emergency, which will allow for easier aid to stricken communities.

About 150 people were stranded at some point Monday across the region, said Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire. About half were rescued by Monday evening, many of them by boat, she said.

An estimated 30 to 40 people evacuated a flooded mobile home park near Astoria in northwestern Oregon, said Peter Williamson of the Red Cross.

Bremerton, Wash., reported 10.78 inches of rain in 24 hours, said Weather Service meteorologist Chris Burke.

Wind gusts of more than 100 mph were reported along the Oregon coast, with the highest reading at 129 mph at Bay City, the Weather Service said. Gusts hit 81 mph at Hoquiam, Wash., it said.

Mudslides halted north-south Amtrak passenger train service between Eugene, Ore., and Vancouver, British Columbia, and flooding forced the indefinite closure of Interstate 5, the main route between Seattle and Portland.

To the east, snowslides temporarily closed major Cascade Mountain passes carrying traffic on Interstate 90 and U.S. 2.

Most major roads in southwestern Washington's Grays Harbor and Pacific counties were closed, and virtually all roads into the coastal city of Aberdeen were cut off, officials said.

"In 30 years of law enforcement, it's as bad as I've ever seen," said Grays Harbor County Sheriff Michael J. Whelan, whose own truck was smashed in his driveway by a falling tree.

Telephone and other communications were so tenuous that it was impossible to determine how many people were forced out of their homes, said Abby Kershaw of Oregon Emergency Management.

Pacific Power reported 40,000 homes without power in Oregon, and it could be days before electricity is fully restored, the utility said. Transmission poles 100 feet tall were toppled, and large sections of lines lay on the ground.

"The ground is saturated from intensive rainfall and trees are leaning into power lines and dropping to the ground," the utility said in a statement.

More than 80,000 people lost power in Washington, Gov. Chris Gregoire said.

The Weather Service issued flood warnings in Oregon for seven coastal rivers and two inland. The storms curtailed state government functions, as driver's license and employment offices in Columbia County filled with flood waters.

In southwestern Washington, one man died when a tree fell on him as he was trying to clear one that had been toppled, said Grays Harbor County Sheriff Ed McGowan. Another died of a medical problem after the power went out, he said.

The Chehalis River was expected to crest at nearly 75 feet Tuesday, which would put Interstate 5 under about five feet of water, said state Transportation Secretary Paula Hammond said.

"There's nothing. You can't get in or out," homeowner Yvonne Powers said in the southwest Washington town of Pe Ell, on the Chehalis.

In Olympia, the rain turned a small creek into a roiling, muddy surge that tore through a wall at the Ranch House BBQ. Tables and booths were strewn across the street, and a storage shed was pushed about 300 feet away.

Christy Romo, who lives just uphill from the restaurant, said she could hear the floodwaters coming and started packing before the first floor of her cabin was inundated.

"I knew I wouldn't have much time," Romo said. "I heard a bang, and then saw the water rising quickly."

The high winds snapped a 206-foot Sitka spruce that had shared honors with one in Washington for the nation's largest. It had attracted 100,000 visitors a year.

People in the Midwest began bracing for the Northwest systems to move their way even as they dug out from a storm that hampered travel over the weekend. That system moved into the Northeast on Monday and has been blamed for more than 15 deaths, mostly in traffic accidents.

A weather-related pileup on New Jersey's route 3 killed two people, including Jennifer Alexander, a dancer for the American Ballet Theater, officials said.

School was canceled or classes delayed from New York to Maine as highways turned slippery and wind gusted to 40 mph. Ice storm warnings were issued for Massachusetts and Connecticut, and winter storm warnings were in effect in Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine and northern and western New York.

Still, the winter weather spelled success for ski areas in New England that suffered through an abysmal winter last year. In Vermont, 7 inches of snow welcomed skiers and snowboarders Monday morning.

"It's not snow. It's white gold," said Christopher Francis, innkeeper at Ye Olde England Inne, a 30-room establishment in the shadow of Stowe Mountain Resort.

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Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers Typh Tucker in Portland; Rachel La Corte, Curt Woodward and David Ammons in Olympia, Wash.; and John Curran in Stowe, Vt.