Storms lash the west coast of Canada and the US

Autumn (or fall) has arrived with a vengeance across western Canada and the northwestern US. Damaging winds have caused widespread disruption and there has also been some flooding.

A series of storms has brought down trees and power lines across the region as winds of up to 130km per hour battered the west coast.

There was even a tornado in Oregon which left a trail of damage and destruction in the town of Manzanita, 120km east of Portland.

There were no injuries reported but local media did report that the strong winds brought down dozens of trees and blocked roads and highways in Manzanita, leading to the town’s mayor declaring a state of emergency.

At one stage the bad weather left more than 35,000 people without power from British Columbia to Oregon. There was also heavy rain which led to flooding in some areas from western Washington to northern California.

As the storms rolled across the higher ground, we have also had some significant snowfall over the Sierra Nevada, the Cascades and the northern Rockies.

The stormy weather included the remnants of Typhoon Songda as the string of storms rolled in from the Pacific Ocean. San Francisco had its wettest day since early March, recording 26mm of rain on Sunday.

San Francisco normally averages around 25mm for the entire month of October. Not surprisingly, this has led to standing water in low-lying areas.

Flights have been delayed and cancelled at the airport. The situation was bad enough for the National Weather Service to issue a flash flood watch and there is the threat of mudslides.

There is still rain across the area now but quieter weather is expected around the middle of the week.

It will be a brief respite because further spells of rain are forecast to affect the Pacific Northwest and western Canada by the weekend.