It Never Rains Like That Here!

by Lin McNulty

Orcas Outfitters drying out. Photo: Lin McNulty

In case you slept through it, in case you haven’t been to Rays, Orcas Outfitters, Eastsound Post Office, Orcas Weddings & Events, or Cherry T’s, you may not know that it rained last night.

OK, rained may be a gross understatement. Ginni Reagles says she was awakened about 2 a.m., and thought her house was going to tip over. “There was no wind,” she says, “just rain, like I’ve never seen it.”

Eileen Dean described the rain coming off her roof, as she stood on her deck after being awakened, as being “behind Niagara Falls. It was just coming down in sheets.”

Tom Tillman arrived at his shop, Orcas Outfitters, about 7 a.m. to discover the whole store was flooded with at least three inches of water.

Flooding also spread throughout the building, into Ray’s Pharmacy and Cherry T’s. The water was highest, however, at Orcas Outfitters.

“We don’t know when we can reopen,” says Stephanie Tillman, owner at Orcas Outfitters. “It depends on how long it takes everything to dry out.”

Sign on the door at Ray’s speaks volumes. Photo: Lin McNulty

Meanwhile, Ray’s Pharmacy was also closed today as employees hauled damaged inventory into a large dumpster which had been brought into the parking lot to assist in the recovery effort.

Pharmacy technicians, however, medications in hand, were greeting customers picking up prescriptions at the door,  still smiling, making the best of an unexpected and difficult situation.

Employees at Ray’s said they also are not sure when they will be able to reopen, as damage is still being assessed.

Keri Lago, owner of Cherry T’s, says their flooding is thankfully minimal and they expect to be open tomorrow.

Further up the street, the Post Office opened early this morning to a flood in its building. The Office Cupboard’s Michell Marshall gamely announced that the supply store is open for business, even though, “It’s a disaster. It’s disruptive, and even though Rainbow [Carpet and Upholstery Care] has drawn up water out of the carpet and fans and humidifiers are going 24/7, it’s not a pretty store. It’s sad.”

Susan Malins, owner of Score! Nifty Thrifty says the store “took a hit from the torrential rains, and thorough clean-up is in process so we’re closed for the day (Wednesday). But we’ll be open this Sunday to make up for it. Stop by from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. for your thrifty shopping pleasures.”

“Love to all floodees!” she adds.

The Living Room and Orcas Center were also swamped by the sudden rain storm.

What’s next? The forecast from AccuWeather for the days ahead indicates possibly more of the same (although it is beautifully clear as I write this):

After a fairly quiet few days ahead, several rounds of heavy rain, high winds, rough seas and even mountain snow will impact the Pacific Northwest over the weekend and into early next week.

Travel will likely be slowed by the heavy rain, localized flooding and gusty winds from Vancouver down through Seattle and Portland. Strong winds will raise seas and could also cause disruptions and damage.

All indications are that a powerful, early season storm system will dive into the Gulf of Alaska on Friday. The storm will not move much over the weekend before it finally weakens and moves eastward by late on Monday.

Disturbances moving around the storm will bring rounds of locally heavy rain to southwestern British Columbia, western Washington and northwestern Washington.

As the storm first establishes itself on Friday, some rain will move into western Washington and British Columbia. A powerful disturbance moving around the storm will bring the threat for locally heavy rain on Saturday.