More heavy rainfall into high-running rivers means King County’s Flood Warning Center opens to monitor minor flooding

Dec. 26 – 2:30 p.m.

For the second time this soggy holiday weekend, King County has opened its Flood Warning Center to monitor minor flooding along the Snoqualmie River. Heavy rainfall from a powerful winter storm is leading to rising flows across the region, and the Snoqualmie River reached a minor Phase 2 flood alert level at about 2 p.m. Sunday.

As of 2:30 p.m. today, the Snoqualmie River’s three forks recorded a flow of 12,290 cubic feet per second (CFS). That’s slightly higher than the Phase 2 threshold of 12,000 CFS – the flow at which we could start to see some minor flood impacts to low-lying areas along the river, such as potential floodwater over fields and roadways.

More minor river flooding is possible over the next few days with additional significant rainfall headed our way. Find real-time river level information at kingcounty.gov/flood.

Our Flood Warning Center operates 24/7 during these flood events, with King County employees monitoring stream gauges and weather reports, and connecting with colleagues at the National Weather Service, the Northwest River Forecast Center, and with dam operators to make sure we’ve all got the latest information.

Contact the Flood Warning Center at 206-296-8200 or 1-800-945-9263 for more details on flood conditions. You can also call that number to reach our recorded message center with updates of river gauge readings, flood phases, and other related information.

Finally, sign up for KC Flood Alerts to get the latest details on King County river flood conditions via email, text or voicemail on any or all of the major river systems in the county, plus Issaquah Creek.

We’ll share new information on this minor flood event as soon as it comes available.

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