A series of powerful storms hit the Pacific north-west, dumping heavy rain, swelling rivers and prompting high-water rescues in several states.

An unusually strong storm system called an atmospheric river is passing through the region, bringing heavy rainfall across western Washington and north-western Oregon and more than a foot of snow in the northern Rockies and north-western Wyoming.

With intense weather expected to continue for several days, flood watches are in effect along the Pacific coast and into the Cascades through midweek.

Already, the weather had emergency agencies on edge. In Snohomish county, north of Seattle, fire crews rescued two people who were trapped by floodwaters at a campsite, local TV stations reported. Crews used drones and water rescue crafts to reach them and get them to safety, officials said.

A mudslide temporarily closed an interstate near North Bend, east of Seattle. Flooding also caused highway closures along several parts of the 101.

The weather service’s Weather Prediction Center forecast several days of heavy rainfall in western Washington and north-western Oregon, with the trans-Pacific jet stream bringing heavy rain along the coast and snow in the mountains.

The weather service’s Seattle office said in a social media post on Tuesday morning that the atmospheric river shifted southward, but precipitation was expected to shift back northward later in the day, bringing another round of heavy rainfall and causing significant river flooding to continue.

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Meanwhile, a fast-moving storm moving eastward across the upper midwest was forecast to bring a range of wintry weather there too, including freezing rain, high winds and heavy snow.

“This is definitely one of those messy winter weather events that we’re going to be having come through, depending on where you are in the northern plains here,” said Ryan Dunleavy, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Minnesota’s Twin Cities.

North Dakota was experiencing rain and freezing rain, and much of the state was under a no-travel advisory due to 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.

Wintry weather was also expected to affect the evening commute in Minnesota and north-west Wisconsin, while parts of central and northern Minnesota and north-west Wisconsin could expect heavy snow.