Forecasters on Wednesday warned of the possibility for “catastrophic flooding” in Western Washington, with some rivers projected to reach record levels in coming days, as a storm parked over the Pacific Northwest unleashed yet another day of heavy rain.
Tens of thousands of people living along some areas of the Skagit and Snohomish Rivers, which flow from the Cascade Range into Puget Sound along the Pacific Ocean, were told to get ready to evacuate, as the area prepared for what could be some its worst flooding in decades.
Gov. Bob Ferguson of Washington signed an emergency declaration on Wednesday afternoon and said he thought federal assistance would be necessary to “help save lives and help individuals save their homes.” He urged people to follow evacuation orders when they are issued, and one emergency official said those orders could come as soon as Wednesday evening.
Unusually heavy rain has soaked the Pacific Northwest since Monday, as a sopping wet storm has draped across the region and into British Columbia, Canada. With more rain falling on Wednesday, forecasters urgently expanded flood warnings, as many areas that were already experiencing some flooding braced for more.
“I’m very concerned,” Steve King, the hydrologist in charge at the Northwest River Forecast Center, said on Wednesday.
“It’s as serious of a situation as I’ve seen in my history here,” he said.
The storm’s impacts are far-reaching.
The storm is pulling a plume of moisture off the Pacific Ocean and sending downpours of rain across Oregon and Washington and into British Columbia. There officials warned of flooding in the Fraser Valley, and heavy snow in the mountains prompted warnings of a high risk of avalanches.
The storm’s reach has spread into Idaho, where some rivers are expected to flood in the state’s north panhandle, and even as far as the eastern United States, where the moisture sent through the upper atmosphere is supercharging the chance of heavy snow this week.
But it is Western Washington that is facing the most severe and widespread effects, as the storm’s moisture is sent flowing up the Cascades before being wrung out like a sponge and spilling down the mountainsides as water.
The resulting rain has been slowly overflowing the region’s rivers, causing flooding that is expected to continue through the end of the week. As early as Monday, floodwaters spread across rural valleys, covering farmland and roads in low-lying areas. The Snoqualmie River spilled over its banks and covered rural land surrounding Fall City in water. The famed Snoqualmie Falls, which tumble 268 feet over a cliff, were raging on Wednesday, and the river gauge there is projected to see its highest flow since 2015.
“Historically, we see significant floods every 20 years,” said Angela Donaldson, a flood plain manager and former president of the Fall City Community Association.
By Wednesday morning, eight rivers in Western Washington had already reached major flood stage, which typically means flooding is widespread and threatening transportation, businesses and residences. Nearly 20 more rivers were poised to reach that stage before the end of the weekend, forecasters said, though they warned that the forecast was constantly evolving.
The flood risk is especially high on two rivers in Washington.
The Skagit and Snohomish Rivers are both located north of Seattle, meandering through the valleys between the Cascades and Puget Sound.
The watersheds received four to 10 inches of rain in an initial round of rain on Monday and are expected to get just as much again by Thursday morning, according to Jason Ellis, service coordination hydrologist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Water Center.
Mr. Ellis said that waters were expected to top multiple levees along these rivers and would likely surpass, by several feet, records that have stood since 1990. Devastating flooding in 1990 caused damage to farms, homes, roads, bridges and other infrastructure, with the estimated damage exceeding $100 million, according to a report from the National Weather Service.
While the Snohomish passes mostly through farmland and small towns, the Skagit runs through some more populated areas. Mr. Ellis said the towns of Cedro-Woolley, home to about 12,000 people, and Burlington, with 10,000 people, are particularly threatened by flooding.
“This is a particularly widespread major event for this part of the country,” Mr. Ellis said. “It has been 35 years since anything close has been observed in these area.”
Amy Graff is a Times reporter covering weather, wildfires and earthquakes.
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