WESTERN WASHINGTON — Heavy rain is falling across western Washington, heading into a period of historic flooding over the next 48 hours. Steady rain will continue throughout the day and overnight.
A Flood Watch is still in effect for most of western Washington as heavy rain continues to pour, causing road closures, evacuations, water rescues, and mudslides.
On Wednesday afternoon, Gov. Bob Ferguson declared a state of emergency due to the severe flooding and requested the help of the National Guard. Ferguson discussed the criticality of the situation and urged anyone who recieves evacuation orders to comply.
WATCH: GOV. FERGUSON SPEAKS ON STATE’S EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PLAN
Many communities are also under Flood Warnings with several inches of rain expected on Wednesday and Thursday. Some areas will likely see catastrophic flooding by Thursday morning.
Heavy rain in the mountains, melting snow, and heavy rain in the lowlands are a guarantee of flooding. The heavy rain will continue and through midday Thursday.
Gov. Bob Ferguson says the state emergency operations center is at its highest activation level.
PHOTOS: Flooding across western Washington
A level one status means state emergency personnel are in constant contact with local managers and are monitoring conditions around the clock.
Ferguson says teams are ready to assist communities that need help, and the Washington National Guard is on standby with additional resources if the storms worsen.
Sen. Maria Cantwell released a compendium of resources for Washington communities:
- A list with links to the websites and social media pages for the emergency management divisions of every county in Washington state is available HERE.
- The Skagit County Emergency Management website is HERE
- Snohomish County is HERE
- King County is HERE
- For road and highway updates, follow the Washington State Department of Transportation’s real-time travel map.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA):
- Ongoing major flooding across the Northern Cascades and Puget Sound regions of the Pacific Northwest is expected to worsen and likely reach record levels later this week.
- Locally catastrophic river flooding is likely, especially along the Skagit and Snohomish Rivers.
As many as 34 gaged locations along major streams and rivers in the region have reached, or are forecast to reach, moderate-to-major flood stage this week. At least 6 of these locations are forecast to reach record flood stage. These include:
- Elwha River at McDonald Bridge near Port Angeles, WA
- Puyallup River near Orting, WA
- Snohomish River near Monroe, WA
- Snohomish River near Snohomish, WA
- Skagit River near Mt. Vernon, WA
- Skagit River near Concrete, WA
With rivers already at moderate-to-major flood stage across the region, another surge of heavy rainfall is likely today and into tomorrow, bringing an additional 4-6 inches of rain to the Olympics and Cascades, with localized amounts of up to 10 inches possible.
Here are a few of the latest developments around western Washington:
Pierce County
A Level 3 – “GO NOW” evacuation notice was issued for part of the Orting community on Wednesday morning for Puyallup River flooding. Central Pierce Fire & Rescue posted the notice on social media just before 10 a.m.
The evacuation is for people living in the area of:
Williams Boulevard NW, Mellinger Avenue Northwest, and Stone Street Northwest.
There is a Level 2 –” BE SET” evacuation notice for people who live in the area High Cedars Golf Course community, south of the Puyallup River near:
- 150th Ave E
- 188th St E
- 184th St E
- 176th St E
- 168th St E
- Off Pioneer Way E
- 177thSt E
- Patterson Road East
- People in the Level 2 areas need to be ready to leave at a moment’s notice, Central Pierce Fire & Rescue officials said.
Evacuation areas can be seen at this link.
Puyallup police are encouraging anyone who lives close to the river to evacuate.
The following roads are closed:
- N Levee Road – under the N Meridian Ave bridge
- 4th St NE – under the N Meridian Ave bridge
- 11th St NW – north of River Road
The Riverwalk Trail remains closed.
In Orting, the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office had three water rescues in progress. One was at Bill and Dan’s RV park, where parked RVs had flooded.
King County
All lanes of SR 410 are closed near Greenwater due to water on the highway. The closure in both directions spans from Mud Mountain Road to 583rd Avenue East.
Both directions of State Route 410 are also closed in Sumner at Traffic Avenue. The westbound lanes are closed at SR 162. The eastbound lanes are closed at Traffic Avenue.
In Auburn, many people are on alert as the heavy rain continues. One of the places where the flooding is most evident is at a Chevron gas station at 277th and Auburn Way N/Central Ave in Auburn. There, the pumps and minimart are partially underwater.
The Green River is at flood phase 3, and water is already spilling over parts of Green Valley Road. The river was at phase 4 on Tuesday night.
Water is still pooled across low-lying roads, and emergency crews are urging people to be ready to leave while access is still possible.
See a list of the road closures in Auburn at this link.
TOOLS | Interactive Radar
RESOURCES | Flood stages for area rivers
ROAD CLOSURES | Snohomish County | Unincorporated King County | Lewis County | Pierce County | Skagit County | State highways
King County Emergency Management officials say river levels along Southeast Green Valley Road will remain high through Friday, with some areas already experiencing major flooding. The main stretch with high river levels is between Southeast Auburn Black Diamond Road and 218th Ave SE.
Drivers are still able to leave the area, but only heading eastbound toward the Whitney Bridge, not west.
Officials with King County Emergency Management are reminding people to prepare for power outages and travel delays.
Also in King County, the Cedar River reached flood phase 4 at around 11:20 a.m., bringing the risk of extreme flooding.
Near Snoqualmie, State Route 202 is closed between Meadowbrook Way and Snoqualmie Parkway; traffic is being directed to Meadowbrook Way towards Snoqualmie Casino.
Snoqualmie Parkway will be closed at Jacobia, preventing any traffic to Downtown. Local access only.
Residents in downtown Snoqualmie wishing to evacuate should make their decision soon, otherwise water levels may prevent their movement, i.e.: road closures, the city said Wednesday.
Twin Falls Middle School (North Bend) is open as a shelter, with limited services.
Snohomish County
Snohomish County has declared an emergency for the weather event. Many roads have been closed by flooding.
In Everett, Rotary Park was gated at about 6:50 a.m. Wednesday due to concerns about the Snohomish River flooding. There was already sizable urban flooding near the river, and the roads were also beginning to puddle.
Langus Park, also along the Snohomish River in Everett, will also be closed due to similar concerns.
Throughout Monroe, several roads have remained closed since Tuesday morning as conditions are expected to worsen.
Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management says the fairgrounds are open for shelter for livestock, and anyone who needs to be evacuated from their home or needs a warm place to stay as the rain continues to roll through. So far, one mobile home park had to be evacuated.
Snohomish County Emergency Management Director Lucia Schmit said they are gathering all departments together to have a holistic approach to help residents through the flooding across the county.
Schmit says there is a chance other areas will need to be vacated as well, particularly those that flood regularly.
In the meantime, she wants to remind residents to never drive or walk through flooded roads, even if the water appears to be low, and not to go around barriers for closed roads.
“The most common cause of death during a flooding event is people trying to drive through water on roads. We’ve had to do a number of car rescues,” said Schmit.
Skagit County
Skagit County officials are asking those in low-lying, flood-prone areas to evacuate. Historic flooding is projected for the county.
Upriver communities, including Rockport, Hamilton, Marblemount, and Concrete, are recommended to evacuate to high ground as soon as possible, a news release from county officials said Wednesday.
The county said all residents living in the 100-year floodplain {MAP} should be prepared for an evacuation notice within the next 24 hours.
Emergency management departments are working with cities and local agencies to help residents as they brace for even more potential flooding in the coming days.
The projections for the Skagit River at Mount Vernon were just updated Tuesday night to reach more than 41 feet by 4 a.m. on Friday morning, a record-setting forecast.
“The forecast and the impact of the flooding will dictate who will be evacuated, if there are evacuations,” said Skagit County Emergency Operations Center spokesperson Andrea Harrison.
The Skagit County Emergency Operations Center is working with the American Red Cross to open a shelter in east county for anyone who may be displaced by floodwaters.
Lewis County
Flooding across Lewis County forced the closure of major roads and several schools on Tuesday as a second round of heavy rain pushed local rivers toward major flood stage.
U.S. 12 near Morton remained closed Wednesday, but have since reopened. Sections of SR 508 and SR 6 were closed Tuesday due to water over the roadway. The Interstate 5 ramps at Exit 72 in Napavine are shut down, and several vehicles in the area are submerged.
Dozens of other roads are restricted or closed in Randle, Packwood, Morton, Chehalis, Centralia, Winlock and other areas.
The Chehalis River was under a Flood Warning at Rochester Wednesday morning.
More heavy rain in December?
While the forecast is expected to dry out on Friday, that likely won’t be the end of our atmospheric rivers, the National Weather Service warned on Wednesday. Periods of heavy rain, high winds, and heavy mountain snow at high elevations are likely across the Pacific Northwest, and possibly northern California, during mid-to-late December.
With the current flooding across western Washington, the high rivers and saturated soil will likely persist through late December.
There may also be high winds across parts of the Pacific Northwest and northern California.
The heavy rain may last through Jan. 2.