Spring weather: winds and floods
Arches National Park is facing high winds with gusts up to 50 mph and temps swinging between 24°F and 51°F — plan accordingly for exposed trails and arches sightseeing KPVI. Meanwhile recent rain and high water led to park closures, travel advisories and landslide risk in northwest Oregon/southwest Washington, and widespread flooding across the Palouse prompted road and park gate closures — check local alerts before heading out OPB NBC Right Now.
Arches’ official conditions [page notes]nps.gov that entrance gates can close and that seasonal entrance wait times often run 30–45 minutes between March and October. Park [managers announced]moabsunnews.com on Feb. 18, 2026 that timed‑entry reservations were discontinued for 2026, a move critics questioned in early March [2026 reported]sltrib.com. The park’s Fiery Furnace area has been closed to permits and ranger‑guided tours amid staffing shortages since March 2025, according to park statements and local [coverage closed]moabtimes.com. An atmospheric river between March 11–13 dumped several inches of rain across northwest Oregon and southwest Washington, displacing about 200 people at Rivers Edge RV Park in Clatskanie and activating Columbia County’s emergency operations [center displaced]opb.org. A debris slide that brought down trees and [mud closed]opb.org all northbound lanes of I‑5 at Woodland and prompted Amtrak to halt passenger service between Portland and Seattle after a slide south of [Centralia halted]opb.org. In Portland, a landslide near Southwest 35th Drive forced a 12‑unit evacuation and shut portions of neighborhood access, while another slide closed roughly two miles of Northwest Cornell Road near the Bird Alliance of [Oregon evacuated/closed]kgw.com. Downtown Pullman saw urban flooding as the South Fork Palouse River [peaked at 8.07 feet]dnews.com around 2 a.m. on March 14, 2026, and Paradise Creek in Moscow set a new crest above 11.5 [feet recorded]pullmanradio.com. Pullman’s Pine Street pedestrian bridge was dislodged and remains out of service while officials plan recovery [work dislodged]klewtv.com, and NOAA/USGS river gauges registered major‑flood thresholds on the Palouse River near Potlatch and the South Fork at [Pullman reported]water.noaa.gov.
