Atmospheric river to bring wind, rain and more flooding to Tri-Cities area

Strong winds and rain are forecast for the Tri-Cities as another atmospheric river hits the coast of Washington.

This one will not be as strong as the one that caused major flooding starting last week in Benton City, West Richland and the west edge of Richland.

But it is forecast to be strong enough that just as the Yakima River level is receding, it is expected to rise again as warm temperatures and rain melt snow in some areas of the Cascade Mountains.

The river at the Kiona gauge near Benton City, the gauge closest to the Tri-Cities, had dropped from a crest of 16.27 feet about noon Saturday to 12.22 feet Monday morning.

The river was the highest Saturday since February 1996 when it rose to 20.98 feet.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration expects it to drop to about 9.2 feet Tuesday afternoon before it starts to rise again to a forecast 14.1 feet Friday night, just under the moderate flooding level.

The action level is 11 feet, with minor flooding at 13 feet and moderate flooding at 14.5 feet. Over the past weekend, the river rose to the major flood stage.

Temperatures are expected to cool after Monday, bringing snow to the Cascade Mountains.

Travelers on Interstate 90 can expect new snow accumulation of 3 to 7 inches Tuesday night, 4 to 8 inches Wednesday and 3 to 5 inches both Wednesday and Wednesday night, according to the National Weather Service.

Snow could also be heavy at times from Friday through the weekend.

Tri-Cities wind, rain

The arrival of the next atmospheric river in Eastern Washington will be preceded by strong winds in the Tri-Cities.

An atmospheric river is a flowing column of condensed water vapor in the atmosphere, in this case bringing warm air and moisture from the Pacific Ocean.

A wind advisory was issued for 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday. Gusts as high as 32 mph during the day, increasing to 36 mph Monday night, were forecast by the weather service.

Strong winds could be back Tuesday evening through Wednesday afternoon, as some Tri-Cities residents are still clearing out tumbleweeds that collected in their yards and searching for missing garbage cans and holiday decorations from the last windstorm a week ago.

The weather service has issued a high wind watch that starts Tuesday evening and could be upgraded to a wind advisory.

It is watching for gusts that could reach 40 mph Tuesday night. But gusts are expected to be intermittent rather than prolonged periods of sustained gusty winds, according to the weather service.

A flood watch for the Yakima River near the Tri-Cities remained in effect Monday morning.

The Tri-Cities can expect another rainy week.

A 30% chance of rain was forecast for Monday and Tuesday, increasing to 90% Tuesday night, with less than a tenth of an inch of rain expected.

Wednesday the chance of rain is 30% with some possible afternoon sunshine. But the rain will return with a 60% chance Wednesday night, 80% chance Thursday and 70% chance Thursday night.

Friday night through the weekend should be drier, with just a slight chance of rain forecast. Any rain might be mixed with snow Saturday and Sunday nights.

As of Sunday Dec. 13, almost 0.6 inch of rain had fallen on the Tri-Cities. About 1 inch is normal for the entire month.

Including Monday, the month has had eight rainy days and seven dry days, according to weather service data.

December has been unusually warm in the Tri-Cities with six days with highs in the 60s. On Wednesday Dec. 10 the high was 68, a record for the date.

Monday and Tuesday were forecast to have temperatures in the 60s, at 65 Monday and 60 Tuesday, before highs drop into the low 50s Wednesday and Thursday and then into the 40s for the weekend.

Lows should drop from the current mid 40s to mid 30s on the weekend. Normal highs for mid-December are about 41 degrees and normal lows are about 27 degrees.

This story was originally published December 15, 2025 at 12:55 PM.