PORT ANGELES — The North Olympic Peninsula’s first major storm of the fall season left behind snow in the mountains and soggy conditions in the lowlands Sunday, but stopped short of serious flooding.
Neither the Jefferson nor Clallam county sheriff’s offices reported any serious incidents relating to weather as of Sunday afternoon.
Two of Olympic National Park’s popular areas were closed Sunday due to the weekend rainfall.
Hurricane Ridge Road was closed due to snow Sunday — the first storm closure of the 2015-16 winter season — and Olympic Hot Springs Road remained closed due to flooding that first shut the roadway Saturday.
The snow level dropped to 4,000 feet and there were “increasingly hazardous winter storm conditions” on Hurricane Ridge Road, according to the Olympic National Park road conditions hotline.
The road was closed at the Heart O’ the Hills entrance station.
The Olympic National Park Visitor Center at 3002 Mount Angeles Road in Port Angeles remained open.
The National Weather Service had issued a winter storm warning in effect through 11 a.m. today, specifically for the Olympic Mountains. Hurricane Ridge was forecast to receive as much as 6 inches of snow.
Pacific Coast portions of the park were under high surf and wind advisories, and visitors were cautioned to watch for falling branches and trees.
Olympic Hot Springs Road west of Port Angeles remained closed at the Madison Falls trailhead parking lot due to flooding in the Elwha Campground area.
The Elwha River never reached flood stage, despite the flooding in the campground area, according to U.S. Geological Survey website data.
The highest level the river reached during the storm was 18.65 feet at 11:30 p.m. Saturday.
Flood stage for the Elwha River is 20 feet.
The Bogachiel River on the West End nearly reached flood stage during the storm, topping out at 36.53 feet at 2 p.m. Saturday, as measured at the LaPush river gage.
Flood stage for the Bogachiel River is 37 feet.
All other rivers in the region ran high Saturday but did not approach flood stage, and river levels fell as rainfall tapered off Sunday.
The rainfall that started late Friday and was expected to continue through Tuesday is “one big storm,” said Danny Mercer, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Seattle.
The storm is complex with multiple parts that affected, and will affect, the region differently, Mercer said.
It was led by a warm front, which dropped heavy rain on the region Saturday, followed by the cold front, which produced snow above 4,000 feet Sunday, he said.
Mercer said trailing portions of the storm will produce fog, occasional rain showers in the lowlands and snow showers in the mountains through Tuesday.
The storm was typical for autumn in the Pacific Northwest, with Nov. 1 opening the door for the wettest part of the year, he said.
“It’s right on track,” he said.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arice@peninsuladailynews.com.
