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River will flood in south Thurston County, National Weather Service warns

Motorists negotiate standing water at the intersection of Binghampton St. and Centre St. N in Rainier on Friday around noon as torrential rains hit the region, causing several area flood warning in their wake.
Motorists negotiate standing water at the intersection of Binghampton St. and Centre St. N in Rainier on Friday around noon as torrential rains hit the region, causing several area flood warning in their wake. Steve Bloom sbloom@theolympian.com

A flood warning was issued by the National Weather Service at 11:56 a.m. Friday for Grays Harbor and Thurston counties near the Chehalis River.

According to a news release, the Chehalis River near Grand Mound has been rising due to heavy rainfall and will continue to rise to reach minor flood stage this evening. The flood warning will be in effect until Sunday morning.

At 11 a.m. Friday the Chehalis River was at 139.4 feet and the flood stage is at 141 feet. The river is expected to rise above the flood stage to 142.4 feet late tomorrow morning, according to the release. It will then begin to recede Sunday morning.

Flood waters are expected to affect nearby farm lands, as well as flood several roads, including James Road, Independence Road and Moon Road. Motorists should not attempt to drive around any barricades or through flooded areas.

This story was originally published November 12, 2021 at 12:21 PM.

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Ty Vinson
The Olympian
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Ty Vinson covers the City of Olympia and keeps tabs on Tumwater and other communities in Thurston County. He joined The Olympian in 2021. Before that, he earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism at Indiana University. In college, he worked as an intern at the Northwest Indiana Times, the Oregonian and the Arizona Republic as a Pulliam Fellow. Support my work with a digital subscription
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