River Levels, Rain Totals, Closures: Flooding Subsides in Some Areas, Intensifies in Others

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Area rivers continued flow out of their banks Saturday morning, but the heaviest rainfall has passed through the region. 

Still, many roads remain closed and areas along the Chehalis River in Grand Mound, Independence Valley and the Chehalis Reservation have yet to see the worst of the flooding, which is expected to be minor to moderate by National Weather Service standards.

"Flood water has started flowing over portions of 188th Avenue SW, just east of the Lucky Eagle Casino, that part of the road along with a section of Moon Road will soon be closed," the Chehalis Tribal Emergency Operations Center wrote on Facebook. "Please use Anderson Road when entering or leaving the area. The river is expected to continue rising into Saturday evening .Do not drive through flooded areas."

Stay updated on river levels here: https://rivers.lewiscountywa.gov/#/ or here https://water.weather.gov/ahps/forecasts.php.

See Thurston County road closures here: https://www.co.thurston.wa.us/publicworks/travelImpacts.html

See Lewis County road conditions here: https://roads.lewiscountywa.gov/closures/table/



The Chehalis River at Centralia was also still on the rise Saturday morning, but only minor flooding was expected.

Upriver, the Chehalis has receded below flood level at Doty. Some areas around Pe Ell had well over 8 inches of rain in a 48-hour period between Thursday and Friday, leading to a steep spike in the river gauge readings yesterday that pushed into the territory of minor flooding. 

Likewise, the Newaukum River dropped below flood level Saturday morning after reaching moderate flood levels Friday and flooding fields, roads and some property. 

Though it didn't hit flood stage, the Cowlitz River also rose sharply Friday and Saturday. 

As for rainfall, here are the 48-hour totals for Lewis County, Thurston County and the rest of Western Washington. 

Finally, here are some photos of Friday's flooding. If you'd like to submit a photo of the flooding for potential publication in The Chronicle, email it to Chronicle Editor Natalie Johnson and njohnson@chronline.com.