Expect wet days, snowy passes

Get used to the wet stuff. It’s not going away today or Tuesday.

The first stormy weather of the fall season hit the Eugene-Springfield area over the weekend, with 1.68 inches of rain falling between 5 p.m. Saturday and 5 p.m. Sunday, according to the National Weather Service in Portland. And an additional quarter inch to a half inch of rain is supposed to fall today, said Rodger Nelson, a National Weather Service meteorologist.

Thunder boomed in the skies. The wind blew. Power went out. Streets filled with rushing water. Giant puddles, like the one that formed on East Amazon Drive in front of The Old Pad tavern, could be seen around town Sunday.

The system also brought the first major snowfall of the year and a weather storm warning for the Santiam and Willamette passes, where up to 15 inches may fall by this evening.

On Sunday afternoon the state Department of Transportation also closed Highway 242, the Old McKenzie Highway over McKenzie Pass, until further notice because of adverse weather and a stuck tractor-trailer rig on the highway. Farther north, 9 inches of snow already was on the ground at Mount Hood Meadows.

About 550 Eugene Water & Electric Board customers lost power to their homes Sunday. About 500 of those customers live in the Walter­ville area, where branches fell onto power lines about 9:45 a.m. Sunday, knocking out electrical service. Crews were able to restore power by 11:20 a.m. Sunday, according to EWEB.

In Eugene, 52 customers lost power along Garden Way just after 7 a.m. All but four of those customers had their service restored by 9:35 a.m. About 25 customers along Luella Street lost power at 9:45 a.m.

Winds, as usual, blew harder at the coast. A high surf advisory continues today at Florence.

“A lot of wind” was the report Sunday from Kim Larson, spokeswoman at the Florence Police Department.

A couple of power lines got knocked down overnight in the area, as did some trees, Larson said.

The U.S. Coast Guard closed three Oregon river bar entrances because of hazardous conditions on Saturday and added four to the list on Sunday.

The Siuslaw River, Columbia River and Tillamook Bay were closed to mariners on Saturday while Coos Bay, Umpqua River, Depoe Bay and Yaquina Bay were shut down Sunday. All waterways were expected to be re-evaluated this morning and will reopen when offshore weather improves.

Today’s official forecast in the Eugene-Springfield area calls for showers this morning with a slight chance of thunderstorms, winds up to 15 mph and a high of 55, Nelson said.