Friday, November 7, 2008

Seattle Area Hit With Heavy Rains, Possible Floods

The Seattle area is facing possible flooding as a second day of intense rain resulted in water pooling on roadways and bringing rivers to their banks Flood watches and warnings were issued in Mason and King counties.

Local officials reported the Tolt River rose to a phase 4 flood alert early this morning, meaning levees along the river near Carnation could overtop and roads can be covered with water. Forecasters also pointed out that the Skykomish River near Gold Bar will be under a flood warning until late Friday.

Slippery conditions and poor visibility resulted in a number major crashes on southbound I-5 at the Convention Center early Friday.

Rain is likely to continue throughout the weekend but will be much lighter until another system is forecast to hit the area on Tuesday.

1 comment:

C.M. Bailey said...

The Skykomish river east of Gold Bar is flooding now, and has not yet reached it's crest.

Levels are not however high enough to cause major damage, and the river is rising so slowly that severe flooding seems unlikely.

This is two years and one day since the record breaking flood of 2006 in this area.