‘It’s not going to get easier’: Western Washington sees major flooding

KIRO 7 News Staff
·3 min read
3

Heavy rainfall caused rivers to crest and flood neighborhoods.

A King County Flood Alert issued at 6:44 a.m. Tuesday said the Snoqualmie River had reached flood Phase 3 and that moderate flooding was expected in low-lying areas throughout the Snoqualmie Valley.

“Most lowland spots will get another 1 to 3 inches of rain with the heaviest likely in the southern one-half of the area through Tuesday,” Chief Meteorologist Morgan Palmer said.

The atmospheric river that’s drenching the region has brought flood watches, warnings and advisories.

Just before 2 p.m., the Stillaguamish River at Arlington set a new record for flood levels at 21.34 feet. That bested the previous 21.16 mark set in December of 2010.

The Washington State Department of Transportation described Tuesday as “a challenging day,” with wet conditions and rainy weather bringing road closures and “lots of crashes.”

“As darkness moves in and rain continues, it’s not going to get easier, so PLEASE be cautious, slow down, watch for road workers, be patient and get where you’re going safety,” WSDOT said.

Here are the rivers that are expected to reach moderate or major flood stage:

Moderate flooding:

  • Skokomish

  • Snohomish

  • Skykomish

  • Tolt

  • Elwha

  • Nisqually

  • Cowlitz

Major flooding:

  • Snohomish at Monroe, cresting Tuesday night.

  • Snoqualmie at Carnation, cresting Tuesday night.

  • Skagit at Mount Vernon, cresting Wednesday.

“On Tuesday, we’ll begin to see inundation of some low-lying roads around many of our rivers as a number of them are likely to reach moderate flood stage later Tuesday and Wednesday,” said Palmer.

You can check this website for the latest river stages and forecasts.

The rain will taper off late Wednesday through Thursday. We’ll be mainly dry late Thursday through Friday. Rain comes back on Saturday along with some mountain snow.

Road Closures

Several roads throughout Western Washington were closed due to either flooding or landslides attributed to the heavy rain.

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