Storms bring heavy rain to the Pacific Northwest, snow and freezing rain to the Upper Midwest

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The first of a series of powerful storms dumped heavy rain and swelled rivers in the Pacific Northwest on Tuesday, closing roads and prompting high water rescues.

Residents in parts of Oregon and Washington grappled with power outages, flooding and school closures, while drivers navigated debris slides and water that closed roads and submerged vehicles.

Fire officials northeast of Seattle said crews conducted several rescues, using inflatable kayaks to pull people from stranded cars and carrying another person about a mile (1.6 km) to safety after they were trapped in a wooded area by rising water.

Forecasters warned that the worst was still to come, with some major rivers expected to crest later in the week.

“We're starting to see a lot of rivers begin to rise and move very rapidly with lots of runoff with the rain,” said Harrison Rademacher, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service's Seattle office.

Rademacher described the atmospheric river soaking the region as “a jet stream of moisture” stretching all the way across the Pacific Ocean “with the nozzle pushing right along the coast of Oregon and Washington.”

The National Weather Service forecast several days of heavy rainfall along the coast and more than a foot of new snow in the northern Rockies in northwestern Wyoming. Flood watches were in effect with scattered flash flooding possible along the coast and into the Cascade Mountains through midweek.

Along Interstate 5 between Seattle and Portland, firefighters conducted five rescues for people whose vehicles were overcome by water when they attempted to drive on flooded roads, including a semitruck driver, said Malachi Simper, spokesperson for Lewis County Fire Protection District #5. Authorities also rescued a family of six from their home in Chehalis, he said, adding that the road to the house was under about four feet (1.2 meters) of water at the time. None of those rescued were injured, he added.

Police said deputies went door-to-door in certain neighborhoods to warn residents of imminent flooding, including evacuating a mobile home park along the Snohomish River northeast of Seattle. The city of Snohomish issued an emergency proclamation due to flooding, while in Auburn, south of Seattle, workers installed temporary flood control barriers along the White River.

On the Columbia River further south near the Oregon border, the city of Longview said it will open a severe weather shelter Tuesday night for anyone affected by flooding or closed streets.

Another storm system is expected to bring rain to the region starting Sunday, Rademacher said. “The pattern looks pretty unsettled going up to the holidays,” he said.

Portland transportation officials warned of an increased risk of car crashes because of hydroplaning or driving through flooded roads.

Further north, an arctic blast is affecting parts of southeast Alaska, with wind chills possibly hitting as low as minus 50 degrees (minus 45.6 Celsius) in Skagway, minus 25 (minus 31.6 Celsius) in Haines and minus 15 degrees (minus 26 C) in Alaska’s capital city, Juneau, according to the National Weather Service.

Meanwhile, a fast-moving storm tracking across the Upper Midwest on Tuesday was forecast to bring freezing rain, high winds and heavy snow.

Much of North Dakota was under a no-travel advisory because of freezing rain and slippery roads. Some schools closed or moved to virtual lessons due to the weather conditions.

Most of Montana and the Dakotas were under a high wind warning. Winds of up to 65 mph (105 kph) were expected Tuesday, said Connor Smith, meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Bismarck. High winds could make travel difficult and blow around unsecured objects, Christmas decorations and already fallen snow, he said.

Wintry weather was also expected to impact the evening commute in Minnesota and northwest Wisconsin, starting Tuesday afternoon and lasting into the night, said Ryan Dunleavy, meteorologist for the National Weather Service in the Twin Cities. Parts of central and northern Minnesota and northwest Wisconsin could see heavy snow, with a mix of winter weather forecast across the Twin Cities metro and southwest Minnesota, with potentially strong winds to follow, Dunleavy said.

Commuters should allow for extra time traveling, he said. The storm is expected to head into the Great Lakes region by Wednesday.

Floodwaters surround homes and buildings after heavy rains, Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025, in Chehalis, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Chehalis Fire rescue workers help residents evacuate their flooded neighborhood after heavy rains in the region Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025, in Chehalis, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

A man checks on a car caught in flooding after heavy rains Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025, in Napavine, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Maery Schine, 11, is helped out of a rescue boat by rescue workers with Chehalis Fire after evacuating with her father Patric, second from left, following flooding after heavy rains in the region Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025, in Chehalis, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

This photo provided by Snohomish Regional Fire & Rescue shows a crew using an inflatable kayak to rescue two people from a vehicle that was stranded by floodwaters, Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025, in Snohomish, Wash. (Snohomish Regional Fire & Rescue via AP)

This photo provided by the Washington State Department of Transportation shows debris on Interstate 90 from a rainstorm Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025. (Washington State Department of Transportation via AP)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran responded to U.S. President Donald Trump’s address to Americans on the war with new missile attacks targeting Israel and the Gulf Arab states Thursday, underlining Tehran’s insistence that it rejected Washington’s outreach for a ceasefire while maintaining its grip on the Strait of Hormuz.

Britain planned to hold a call Thursday with nearly three dozen countries about how to reopen the strait, through which 20% of all oil and natural gas traded passes in peacetime. The 35 countries, including all G7 industrialized democracies except the U.S., as well as the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, signed a declaration last month demanding Iran stop blocking the strait. The call will discuss “diplomatic and political measures” that could restore shipping once the fighting is over.

Washington has insisted that Iran allow ships to freely transit the strait, but Trump this week has said it is not up to the U.S. to force it, and in his address encouraged countries that receive oil through Hormuz to “build some delayed courage” and go “take it.”

In his address, Trump said the U.S. would hit Iran “extremely hard over the next two to three weeks,” while also insisting American “core strategic objectives are nearing completion.”

Iran's military said defiantly on Thursday that its armament facilities are hidden and will never be reached by Israeli or American attacks.

“The centers you think you have targeted are insignificant,” said Lt. Col. Ebrahim Zolfaghari, a spokesman for the Iranian military’s Khatam Al-Anbiya Central Headquarters.

Just before Trump began his nearly 20-minute address on Wednesday, explosions were heard in Dubai as air defenses worked to intercept an Iranian missile barrage. Less than a half hour after the president was done, Israel said its military was working to intercept incoming missiles.

Sirens sounded in Bahrain, home to the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet, immediately after the speech.

Following a joint statement in March condemning Iranian attacks on unarmed commercial vessels that called upon Iran to “cease immediately its threats, laying of mines, drone and missile attacks and other attempts to block the strait,” the 35 signatories were to hold a virtual meeting Thursday hosted by British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper.

Though the oil and gas that typically transits the Strait of Hormuz primarily is sold to Asian nations, Japan and South Korea were the only two countries from the region that were joining.

“Trump’s message was that the United States can sustain its own economic and energy ecosystem, while countries dependent on regional exports will either have to buy from the United States or manage the Strait themselves,” the New York-based Soufan Center think tank wrote after the address.

“While Trump explicitly thanked U.S. allies in the Persian Gulf for their cooperation and allyship, an expedited U.S. withdrawal without securing the strait will leave many of these countries, whose economies are dependent on energy exports, in the lurch.”

No country appears willing to try and open the strait by force while the war is raging. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the group “will assess all viable diplomatic and political measures we can take to restore freedom of navigation, guarantee the safety of trapped ships and seafarers and to resume the movement of vital commodities.”

Bahrain, which now holds the presidency of the United Nations Security Council, has been working to get the world body to address the crisis as well.

Though Iran has allowed a trickle of ships through the strait, it remains largely closed. Iran has also been repeatedly attacking Gulf Arab energy infrastructure, sending oil prices skyrocketing and giving rise to broader economic problems worldwide.

Following Trump's speech, Brent crude, the international standard, rose again and was at $108 in early spot trading, up nearly 50% from Feb. 28 when Israel and the U.S. started the war with their attacks on Iran.

The rising energy prices and stock market jitters have been putting increasing domestic pressure on Trump, who used his address to offer a defense of the war while also suggesting it was close to winding down.

He acknowledged American service members who had been killed and said: “We are going to finish the job, and we’re going to finish it very fast. We’re getting very close.”

The U.S. has presented Iran with a 15-point plan for a ceasefire, but Trump didn’t say anything about the diplomatic efforts or bring up his April 6 deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face severe retaliation from the U.S.

More than 1,900 people have been killed in Iran during the war, while 19 have been reported dead in Israel. More than two dozen people have died in Gulf states and the occupied West Bank, while 13 U.S. service members have been killed.

More than 1,200 people have been killed in Lebanon and more than 1 million displaced, according to authorities. Ten Israeli soldiers have also died there.

Weissert reported from Washington and Rising reported from Bangkok.

The Indian flagged LPG carrier Jag Vasant transporting liquefied petroleum gas, is seen at the Mumbai Port in Mumbai, India, after it arrived clearing the Strait of Hormuz, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

President Donald Trump speaks about the Iran war from the Cross Hall of the White House on Wednesday, April 1, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, Pool)

President Donald Trump walks from the Blue Room to speak about the Iran war from the Cross Hall of the White House on Wednesday, April 1, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, Pool)

President Donald Trump speaks about the Iran war from the Cross Hall of the White House on Wednesday, April 1, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, Pool)

President Donald Trump speaks about the Iran war from the Cross Hall of the White House on Wednesday, April 1, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, Pool)