Rain, Potential Flooding, Landslide Threat: Gig Harbor Forecast

GIG HARBOR, WA — After a relative reprieve this weekend, heavy rains are returning to Western Washington for the start of the work week.

As the National Weather Service put it Monday afternoon: the Puget Sound has a "pretty soggy 36 hours" ahead.

And when they say "pretty soggy" they aren't joking— Puget Sound from Seattle down through Tacoma can expect anywhere between two and three inches of rain between Monday morning and Wednesday evening. Kitsap County will see even more, with three to four inches of rain expected in Bremerton and Shelton. According to meteorologists, the rain will be at its worst Monday night and Tuesday night into Wednesday morning.

During that time, the rain is likely to be accompanied by gusty winds, which the weather service warns could damage trees or cause localized power outages. Expect winds between 15 and 20 mph in Seattle and the north sound, and 20 to 25 mph for Tacoma and surrounding areas.

All that weather builds on to what has already been an extraordinarily wet January for the evergreen state. In fact, it's enough rain that the emerald city may still have its wettest start to a year ever, according to the Seattle Weather Blog.

That excess rain brings with it a pair of returning threats: potential flooding for rivers and the coast, and saturated hills that could give way into landslides.

Forecasters have issued a flood watch through Wednesday night. In addition to the usual river flooding, they say it's possible the heavy rains will call small zones of urban flooding. That flooding will likely be at its worst overnight when the rains are heaviest, so drivers are advised to use extra caution.

As with the recent bout of heavy rains last week, there will be an elevated risk for landslides across the region, which should remain through the end of the day Wednesday.

After that, the weather finally starts to dry out. Rivers are expected to recede Thursday and while there will likely be more rain Friday, it should be much lighter than the rainfall in the early week.

Here's a look at the 5-day weather outlook for Gig Harbor:

Tuesday: 54°/43° (Rain)
Wednesday: 50°/36° (Rain likely)
Thursday: 48°/40° (Slight chance rain)
Friday: 49°/38° (Rain likely)
Saturday: 47°/39° (Mostly cloudy)