flood watch

Army Corps preparing for 'big water' in Northwest

Tom Banse — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 18:12:30 +0000

Federal water and dam managers are draining reservoirs in the Columbia and Snake River basins to get ready for "big water" coursing downriver. In recent weeks, the Army Corps of Engineers has called for bigger drawdowns -- or as the agency calls it "drafting" -- to protect against flooding. Supervisory engineer Peter Brooks says more room is needed to catch runoff from the bountiful snows of March.

"Grand Coulee is being drafted close to two feet per day, which is quite a bit, not outside the realm of what we're authorized to do, but it's pretty steep," Brooks says.

Some river flooding, road closures after rains

KPLU News Staff — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 15:42:12 +0000

Some major western Washington rivers are expected to flood today, including "major" flooding forecast along the Snohomish and Snoqualmie, according to the National Weather Service.

Heavy rains the past few days, with heavy concentrations in the Cascades and Cascade foothills, and warmer mountain temperatures, have produced rapid runoff.

Flood warnings are issued for these rivers in Snohomish and King counties:

Snohomish
Skykomish
Snoqualmie
Tolt
Stillaguamish (north and middle forks)
Green (middle reach upstream of Auburn)

Tuesday morning's headlines

KPLU News Staff — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 14:49:55 +0000

Making headlines around the Northwest this morning:

Heavy Rains Coming Wednesday Trigger Flood Watch
Pierce Transit Makes Some Deep Service Cuts Permanent
King County Project Likely Culprit of Massive Sinkhole

Flood Watch Tomorrow for Western Washington

Heavy rains over the next few days have triggered a flood watch beginning tomorrow afternoon for many western Washington counties. The National Weather Service office in Seattle forecasts warmer temperatures as a very wet frontal system stalls over the region tonight and tomorrow, dumping rain and raising mountain freezing levels from 7,000 to 9,000 feet.

WSDOT worker killed by falling tree; Worst of storm & flooding over

KPLU News Staff and The Associated Press — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 18:06:32 +0000

A veteran Washington State Department of Transportation worker has died after being hit by a falling tree during Sunday night's rain storm. Maintenance Superintendent Jim McBride said the worker was setting up safety cones to alert motorists to downed power lines when the tree fell on his truck and killed him on Highway 203 just south of Carnation.

Department spokeswoman Kris Olsen identified the man as 66-year-old Billy Rhynalds, a 12-year veteran of the department.