West Coast Storms Lead To Flooding In Washington

This week there have been roughly seven–inches of rainfall east of the Olympic Mountains in Washington State. The rain has caused the flooding of Duckabush and Dosewallips rivers in Washington.

According to Keppie Keplinger, Jefferson County Emergency Management spokeswoman, rescue teams designed to handle flooding issues went door-to-door in the area. Several people were evacuated on Friday.

Those stranded by the flooding were found to be uninjured after rescue. The Jefferson County Chapter of the American Red Cross was quick to dispatch a team to Brinnon, Washington in order to support victims of the flooding and the first responders.

There are warnings of possible flooding for several other rivers in western Washington: Elwha, Dungeness, Bogachiel, Nooksack, Skagit and Stillaguamish. Weather officials are also warning about possible landslides.

Washington is not the only state affected by these storms, and the worst could be far from over.

According to the National Weather Service, heavy rains, flash flooding, and severe winds are still expected to hit the affected Washington and California areas until Monday. The worst may be on Sunday when Marin and Sonoma counties could see up to 10-inches of rain. That rain could lead to more mudslides and even worse flooding.

One mudslide blocked Duckabush road on Friday, but has since been cleared.

The cause of the flooding is a storm that is making its way down the West Coast. It has affected Washington, California, and even Nevada saw hurricane-force winds as a result. NV Energy reported that upwards of 5,000 Nevada residents had no power due to the storm as of noon on Friday.

Rain in California will offer a little bit of relief in the areas affected by the recent drought; but only a little bit.

The heavy rains, even with flooding, won’t make up for approximately six weeks of dryness.

“It would take 150 percent of the average rainfall for California to recover from the dry period… snow is more important than rain because snowpack supplies about a third of the water needed by residents, agriculture and industry,” according to the Washington Post.

January is usually the month when San Francisco, California expects the winter rains, this year the area had no measurable rainfall at all. Water resource managers have stated that temperatures in the area would need to be much cooler and offer a great deal more rain in order to start recovering from the drought.

[Image courtesy of Q13]