On Wednesday, the entire western half of Lewis County was under a flood watch while the eastern half was under a winter storm warning, according to the National Weather Service.
Both advisories last through about 4 p.m. Thursday. The flood watch is also in place for Thurston County, a portion of Grays Harbor County and other areas in Western Washington. The winter storm advisory is in place for all of Washington’s Cascade mountains and foothills.
The weather service on Wednesday was predicting heavy snow above 1,000 feet with additional snow accumulations of up to 2 to 4 feet and wind gusts between 40 and 50 miles per hour.
Rivers in Lewis and Thurston counties — including the Chehalis, Skookumchuck, Newaukum and Cowlitz rivers — are expected to remain below flood levels.
Still, residents should be aware of rising waterways.
“A rising snow level, moderate to heavy rain, and to a lesser degree low- to mid-elevation snowmelt will potentially produce enough runoff to cause minor flooding of some streams and rivers,” The National Weather Service reported Wednesday. “The Olympics and Cascades could see 3 to 5 inches of rain. The snow level will rise Wednesday to 4,500 feet. Based on the degree of snow level changes, its relation to precipitation, and the amount of precipitation and snowmelt makes for a fair amount of uncertainty on what, if any, rivers will flood. The exception is the Skokomish River, which is highly likely to exceed flood stage and possibly moderate flood.”
Stay up to date on the forecast at https://www.weather.gov/sew/.
River levels can be monitored at https://water.weather.gov/ahps/forecasts.php.
