SNOHOMISH COUNTY, Wash. — Multiple rivers in Western Washington are expected to rise over the coming days due to the recent snow in the mountains and expected rain.
One of those rivers is the Snohomish River, which the National Weather Service projects will rise around 15 feet by Tuesday or Wednesday, reaching just under "major" flood stage.
“I've seen it come up, you know, several feet,” said Palmer Bodin, who has lived in Snohomish County for about 20 years, about the Snohomish River. “It just really depends. You know, if it's a spring melt and it's raining just right, then you'll see a lot of that.”
Bodin said in certain areas of Snohomish County he has seen roads get covered with water when the river rises.
“I've seen a few times where I'll be on 522 and it's just water underneath me,” said Bodin.
The National Weather Service said multiple rivers will be rising and that they expect this to be a widespread flooding event. The NWS is expecting that the Snohomish River will go over the moderate flood stage threshold and will peak right under the major flood stage threshold.
“That rain on snow will help increase that runoff, and so that will increase and you'll start to see those sharp rises on those area rivers,” said Samantha Borth, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. “That’s really going to increase our rises on area rivers as well as maybe provide some minor nuisance flooding on area roadways as well.”
She urges people in flood prone areas to keep up to date with the weather and river forecasts.
“Make sure that you're monitoring those closely, especially if you live near any of those flood prone rivers,” said Borth.
The Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management is urging people to check river levels and utilize resources on their website. They also ask people to avoid low-lying roads that may be impacted by flooding.