As Heavy Rains Pour, NWS Warns Of Floods, Landslides & Avalanches

WASHINGTON — Western Washington has made it through the first half of this week's stormy forecast, but the National Weather Service warns: residents still need to be prepared for wild weather until skies clear later this week.

The NWS held a news conference Tuesday to warn of "significant weather" over the coming few days, specifically an increased threat for flooding, landslides, high waves, and even the potential for avalanches in the mountain passes.

Heavy rains continue, flood warning issued

The heavy rains that slammed Western Washington Monday night are expected to continue through Wednesday at the very least.

Here's a look at the rain the region had already seen as of Tuesday morning:

You can see that much of the Puget Sound region has seen an inch or more of rain. Tacoma has seen more than two inches and Bremerton has pushed past 3 inches of rainfall.

But that isn't the end of the rain: forecasters say to expect further rain through Wednesday evening, with the worst rains beginning late Tuesday night and lasting into Wednesday morning. That rain is expected to add another half an inch to an inch of rain for Seattle and Everett, and a full inch or more to Tacoma and the surrounding south sound.

Those heavy rains are likely to cause not only river flooding, but patches of urban flooding and small stream flooding. The NWS says they are keeping a particularly close eye on the Skokomish, Snohomish, Snoqualmie, Cowlitz and Chehalis rivers.

Elevated threat for landslides

Those heavy rains also mean that the hillsides have become saturated with moisture, meaning an elevated threat for landslides across Puget Sound. Meteorologists raised similar concerns during last week's rains, and there were several small slides, including one Jan 4. in Edgewood

The threat of landslides should die off as the rain does, after Wednesday.

Problems in the passes

Meanwhile, rain in the lowlands means snow in the passes and mountains. And the snow has really been piling up the last few weeks — so much so that the Northwest Avalanche Center has issued another avalanche warning for the Washington Cascades and passes Tuesday.

The National Weather Service has echoed those concerns, saying enough snow has build up that an avalanche could potentially bury or even destroy a vehicle. For that reason, they are asking travelers to avoid the mountains and passes until the warning has lifted.

Fortunately, after Wednesday the weather situation is expected to improve. Forecasters are predicting party sunny skies with only a slight chance of rain for Thursday, and while a new weather system will bring more rain Friday, it should be significantly lighter than what Western Washington saw early this week.