Flood warnings in Thurston County on Friday as rain, snow falls across region
Thurston County was under a flood warning as the Skookumchuck River near Bucoda rose above its crest on Friday morning.
The river’s action stage is 209.5 feet, according to Thurston County Emergency Management. Its height was at 210.06 feet as of 7:45 a.m. and it was expected to rise to nearly 213 feet by Saturday.
The Chehalis River near Grand Mound had risen past flood level as of Friday afternoon, according to Thurston County Emergency Management. The action stage is 138.5 feet, and it measured 139.4 feet at 3 p.m. It was expected to rise to 142.25 feet by Saturday night.
The Deschutes River near Rainier had also risen past its action stage of 9 feet on Friday afternoon. It measured 10.39 feet at 3:45 p.m.
The action stage of a body of water is the level a body of water reaches that triggers mitigation measures from either the National Weather Service or a local agency.
According to previous reporting from the Tacoma News Tribune, the NWS issues a flood watch “when conditions are favorable for a specific hazardous weather event” — such as flooding — to occur.
A flood warning is issued when “conditions are favorable for flooding,” the weather service explained on its website. “It does not mean flooding will occur, but it is possible.” In cases when a “specific weather event” in the forecast “may become a nuisance,” the weather agency said, it issues a flood advisory.
Both directions of U.S. 12 between Lewis and Yakima counties were closed on Friday, according to the Washington State Department of Transportation’s website.
Both directions were closed from milepost 135 near Timberline Road east of Packwood to White Pass due to severe weather conditions. There was no estimated reopening time as of 10 a.m. March 13.
There was a second alert for U.S. 12 that stated the area around White Pass was closed due to an avalanche assessment.
According to WSDOT, there was only one cross-state route fully open Friday morning: state Route 14 near the Oregon border. I-90 was closed in both directions from North Bend to Ellensburg due to spun-out vehicles, snow and downed trees. U.S. 2 near Skykomish was closed due to a collision involving a snowplow. Portions of both state Routes 410 and 18 were closed due to trees, collisions and spinouts.
Jeff Michalski, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Seattle, told The Olympian that Thurston County was under a flood watch as well. The advisory is set to last until 5 p.m. Sunday, March 15.
While cameras at the Seattle-Tacoma Airport were picking up snow, Michalski said things were looking relatively normal in the Olympia area on Friday morning. He said the Olympia Regional Airport monitors were seeing rain and above-freezing temperatures, although Thurston County has always seen higher-than-predicted snow levels.
Michalski said the South Sound region should be transitioning from snow over to rain Friday, and temperatures should stay above freezing. He said the rain should subside by Friday evening, and effects from the weather should be minimal.
He said temperatures will cool down and dip below freezing overnight and into Saturday morning, which could lead to some icy roads following the Friday rain.
The Grapeview School District in Mason County was closed on Friday due to continued snow and bad road conditions.
The Hood Canal School District was closed due to a power outage. The district released students early to families for pickup, and they will remain supervised at school until they’re picked up. According to the alert from the district, buses will not be sent to empty homes, but they may provide bus drop-offs later if the district is able to confirm that someone is home.
Olympic College’s Shelton Campus was closed for the remainder of the day March 13 due to snow and ice. All classes and activities were canceled.
Skokomish Tribal buildings were closed due to inclement weather and power outages.
This story was originally published March 13, 2026 at 9:51 AM.
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