Then conditions changed.
As temperatures climbed, snowfall turned to rain, melting mountain snowpack. Runoff poured into the communities below, inundating waterways across Northeast Oregon and Southeast Washington. One research station in Umatilla County recorded waters rising approximately 8 feet in less than 20 hours.
The aftermath showed hundreds of homes destroyed, thousands of people evacuated and total damages over $48 million. One life was lost.
It was the second consecutive year of high waters, but its devastation was unparalleled in recent years. For many, there came a daunting question â could it happen again?
A robust and growing body of research has many scientists convinced that climate change is contributing to more frequent and severe flooding â the most common weather-related disaster threat in the United States. And with planet-heating emissions continuing to rise, extreme weather events and related losses are likely to continue, unless efforts are made
Originally published on February 15, 2021 11:35 am
The Columbia River west of the Gorge as it heads toward Portland and out to the Pacific Ocean. CREDIT: Amelia Templeton/OPB
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Warmer winter weather, more rainfall and less snow will contribute to significantly increased flooding in the Columbia River Basin this century due to climate change, new research says.
New modeling shows an increase of flooding by up to 60% in the next 50 to 100 years, according to a study by Oregon State University’s Oregon Climate Change Research Institute. Less precipitation falling as snow during the winter will lead to earlier spring streamflows for many rivers in the basin, including the Columbia, Willamette and Snake rivers and hundreds of tributaries.