MOUNT VERNON, Wash. — From heavy winds to rain and flooding, Michael Berthelote is used to the blustery weather Mount Vernon faces this time of year. He’s the co-owner of Rashawadee Thai Café in downtown Mount Vernon.
“The river is only, what, 200 feet away? We have new flood walls up, so it works out really well. It keeps us operating even if the river comes up,” he said.
On Friday morning, the National Weather Service issued a Flood Warning for Mount Vernon with the Skagit River expected to rise above flood stage around 10 a.m. at crest at 31.8 feet Friday evening. The river's major flood stage is 32 feet.
“We’re watching those flood levels all day and when it hits that trigger point, for us 32 feet at the riverside gauge, then we will deploy those stop logs,” said Peter Donovan, Mount Vernon Project Development Manager.
The floodwall along the River Walk was completed in 2019 and prevents floodwaters from reaching businesses.
“The fact that they don’t have to stress out about the river flooding, so no longer do we have the days of needing to evacuate downtown or sandbagging at all hours of the night,” Donovan explained.
When heavy rains and potential flooding are expected, the city deploys crews to add metal posts along the floodwall that hold stop logs if the water gets high enough.
“We’re expecting, the last update about 31 feet, a little over 31 feet. So, we’re getting close, which is why we made the decision today to put up the vertical posts and just be ready. Those will be here throughout the season and taken down in the spring,” said Donovan Thursday.
The city gets frequent updates from NOAA about the river levels, letting them know when to deploy the stop logs ahead of any major flooding concerns.
At the expected levels, the NWS said residents throughout the Skagit River basin should expect "inundated roadways, farmlands and residential areas including localized flooding from overwhelmed drainage systems."
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