Oregon: record rain, watch conditions
An atmospheric river is dumping record-breaking rainfall across parts of Oregon, triggering landslides and flood watches — hikers on the Pacific Crest Trail and other routes should monitor alerts and avoid unstable slopes OPB. At the same time, Oregon’s Whale Watch Week runs March 21–29 with volunteers at 15 coast sites — great coastal wildlife viewing but expect wet, unstable trail conditions inland KGW, KVAL.
The National Weather Service issued a Flood Watch for northwest Oregon from 5 p.m. March 11 through the evening of March 13 kykn.com, and separate Flood Warnings remain active for Johnson Creek at Gresham and Beaver Creek at Troutdale where minor flooding has been reported. forecast.weather.gov The Oregon Department of Transportation closed the Historic Columbia River Highway east of Corbett after a landslide dropped rocks and earth across the roadway on March 11. katu.com Rockfalls briefly shut U.S. Highway 101 north of Garibaldi and crews reported high-water closures in multiple Tillamook County locations with photos showing Main Street in Tillamook under floodwater on March 12. koin.com The Pacific Crest Trail Association is updating a real‑time closures map and offers a dedicated “Closures” mobile app listing landslide and access alerts for PCT segments in Oregon, with the online portal refreshed this week. closures.pcta.org Oregon State Parks says Spring Whale Watch Week runs March 21–29 with trained volunteers and rangers at 15 coast sites staffing binocular stations from 10 a.m.–1 p.m. daily, and the Whale Watching Center in Depoe Bay open 10 a.m.–4 p.m. during the event. apps.oregon.gov NOAA’s models estimate roughly 13,000 gray whales will pass Oregon shores between late winter and June, with 2025 population estimates between about 11,700 and 14,500. apps.oregon.gov
