Olympia area sees record rainfall totals as Thurston County goes under flood warning

As people all across Western Washington prepare for a wet week, the Olympia area has already set a daily rainfall record that hasn’t been beaten in 50 years.

According to the National Weather Service, the Olympia area received 1.71 inches of rain from midnight to 10 a.m. Monday. There are 14 hours of practically non-stop rain still to come, but the area already beat its daily rainfall record of 1.69 inches, set in 1972.

Thurston County was placed under a flood warning, according to NWS, along with Grays Harbor, King, Lewis, Mason, Pierce and several other counties. It will be in effect until at least 7 a.m. Tuesday.

The county and surrounding areas are expected to receive anywhere from 1-3 more inches of rain through Wednesday. Today and Tuesday will continue to be windy as well, with gusts up to 24 mph and sustained winds of almost 10 mph through Wednesday.

This story was originally published February 28, 2022 at 10:59 AM.

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