Flooding at Scatter Creek in south Thurston County.
Fall is ending on a soggy note in Olympia.
The National Weather Service in Seattle says the Olympia area got 3.3 inches of rain in 24 hours as of Friday morning. Olympia’s rainfall Thursday set a new daily precipitation record for Dec. 19.
Moderate to heavy rain was expected to continue at least until Saturday afternoon, especially in South Sound and across the southern half of Western Washington, according to NWS.
Officials were warning of flooded roads that were making for messy driving. There were reports of standing water on Interstate 5 in Olympia Friday, according to Washington State Department of Transportation.
An urban flood advisory was in effect Friday for the Seattle, Tacoma and Olympia metro areas. Thurston County Public Works was reporting dozens of water hazards on the roads by midday Friday.
Offut Lake Road Southeast was closed at Old Highway 99 and Bronson Street “due to swift moving water,” according to a tweet from the public works department.
Flooding was reported on the Capitol Campus in Olympia, including in the basement of the Governor’s Mansion and in a first-floor vault of the State Archives Building.
State and city officials were preparing for flooding at Capitol Lake on Saturday afternoon.
South Puget Sound Community College closed its Olympia and Lacey campuses at 2 p.m. Friday due to rain.
Farther south, a flood warning was issued for the Chehalis River near Doty in Lewis County, as well as for the Newaukum River near Chehalis, according to NWS.
Parts of Lewis County got more than 8 inches of rain in 48 hours, according to NWS.
Olympia’s public works department was offering sand bags to Olympia residents and businesses at four sites: near Acme Fuel at 416 State Ave. NE, Les Schwab at 1100 Plum St. SE, Olympia Supply at 625 Columbia St. SW and at the city’s maintenance center at 1401 Eastside St. SE.
The torrential rainstorm made Olympia resident Gregg Littell concerned for people who are living without shelter, so he went to Home Depot and bought 10 $5 golf umbrellas that he quickly distributed to grateful and wet clients at the Union Gospel Mission on Franklin Street Northeast.
He told his sister about his concern, and she told him to go buy 20 more, on her tab, and those were passed out as well.
“People probably aren’t thinking about it, but this is a way lots of people could make a difference,” he told The Olympian. “Everyone could afford to give one.”
