A pair of storms pummeling the Pacific Northwest threaten flooding, avalanches and 'sting jets' – intense and destructive low-level winds.

The third powerful atmospheric river storm to impact the Pacific Northwest since the end of last week blasted portions of Washington and Oregon with hurricane-force wind gusts and torrential rain that led to widespread power outages,

Storms rumbled across Washington and Oregon from Feb. 24-25, downing power lines and dumping heavy rain. A rift is emerging between the east and west of the EU over what to do with Russia’s seized central bank reserves. State-backed North Korean hackers have stolen $1.5bn (£1.2bn) of cryptocurrency in the largest heist in history.

Days of rain are on the way for the Pacific Northwest. Watch Next . Arctic blast moves into Central, Eastern US in latest winter storm

Downpours and strong winds were spotted in Oregon and Washington Monday night. Wind speeds reached 99 mph and it left 170,000 without power.