Flooding, landslides possible for western Washington into the weekend
The National Weather Service issued flood watches for several counties in western Washington on Tuesday, as meteorologists eye rising temperatures and snow levels along with rain in the forecast.
Several bouts of heavy rain are expected through early next week, according to forecasters, raising the threat of flooding and landslides.
The first flood watch went into effect for Mason County beginning 4 p.m. Tuesday and is in effect through Wednesday night. Flooding along the Skokomish River near Potlatch is possible, NWS Meteorologist Carly Kovacik told The Olympian, with most rainfall expected across the Olympic mountains.
Another flood watch is in effect starting Thursday afternoon and lasting through Friday afternoon for Thurston, Lewis, Pierce, King Skagit, Snohomish, and Whatcom counties. Again, the concern is river flooding, Kovacik said.
A watch is essentially a heads up that there’s potential for flooding based on current forecasts, but NWS advises monitoring forecasts for possible flood warnings, which signal that a flood is imminent or happening.
This story was originally published January 21, 2020 at 4:22 PM.
.jpg)