South Sound escapes flooding from ‘atmospheric river’
While flooding continues in northern Washington, Pierce and Thurston counties have so far escaped the worst of a second ‘atmospheric river,’ the first of which recently inundated areas of Whatcom County, causing as much as $50 million in damage.
There were no reports of flooding locally, although rainfall is expected to increase throughout Sunday afternoon and into the evening, according to Steve Reedy, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service (NWS) in Seattle.
Very few outages are being reported by Puget Sound Energy: just two customers in Thurston County and five in Pierce are without power.
The NWS had issued flood warning for much of north-western Washington on Saturday. There was some flooding in Mason County this weekend but nothing as severe as in Whatcom, Reedy said.
Flood risk remained moderate on Sunday, and more rain is expected on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, eventually tapering off by Thursday morning. The latest briefing from the NWS says to expect difficult travel conditions.
This story was originally published November 28, 2021 at 1:44 PM.
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