Snoqualmie River Flood Warning Issued As Pinepple Express Soaks Western Washington

Here we go again, Snoqualmie!  The flood watch issued two days ago for the Snoqualmie River near the Falls  was upgraded to a Flood Warning early this morning.  The National Weather Service says minor to moderate flooding is expected from the town of Snoqulamie downstream through Fall City.  This is the second flooding event in just over a month.

The Flood Warning is effective Sunday, January 16th, until Tuesday morning.  At 7:45AM today the river flood flow was just over 25,000cfs.  Level 3 flood stage is 20,000cfs.  The Snoqualmie River flood flow has nearly doubled since late last night when the heavy rains began impacting Snoqualmie Valley and the Central Cascades.  The heavy rains will continue through late tonight.  The freezing level remains around 8,000 feet and 2 – 6 inches of rain are predicted for the lowlands and mountains.

The Snoqualmie River near the Falls is expected to crest around 38,000cfs at 4PM today and fall below flood stage early Tuesday morning.  This is the same level the river reached during last month’s flooding event- in which main roads through Snoqualmie were NOT impacted.  At 30,000cfs widespread flooding of pasture lands and roads along the river is predicted.  Again, at this flow, main roads through Snoqualme should remain open.

Do not attempt to drive vehicles over water-covered roadways.  This is the number one cause of flood-related deaths in Washington State.  For more information on Snoqualmie River flood levels and real-time flooding updates visit http://green.kingcounty.gov/rivergagedata/gage-data.aspx?r=snoqualmie.   This link is also posted here under “Useful Snoqualmie Links.”