King County Flood Warning Center closes as rivers stabilize following strong winter rainstorm

January 7, 2020

Summary

The King County Flood Warning Center will close at 9 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 7, as flood flows ease on rivers swollen with rainfall from a powerful winter storm that soaked much of the region beginning Jan. 6. County employees will continue to monitor weather forecasts and stream conditions.

Story

The King County Flood Warning Center will close at 9 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 7, following roughly 30 hours of continuous operation to monitor flood conditions on rivers that spilled their banks as a result of a significant rainstorm.

The Flood Warning Center opened at 3:30 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 6, after heavy rainfall pushed the Tolt River to a minor Phase 2 flood alert level. Soon after, the Snoqualmie River reached a Phase 2 flood alert level, and both rivers eventually reached a Phase 3 flood alert level with moderate and widespread flooding. 

Planned releases from a flood-control dam resulted in a Phase 2 flood alert for the White River near Auburn and Pacific late in the afternoon of Tuesday, Jan. 7.

King County flood patrol crews spent much of Tuesday, Jan. 7 in the field checking flood protection structures and reporting their observations back to Flood Warning Center employees.

County employees will continue to monitor river gauges and weather reports, and they will provide updated information on river conditions as necessary. Real-time river level information is available online at kingcounty.gov/flood.

During river flooding events, King County serves as a clearinghouse for information on flood conditions, operating a recorded message center with continuous updates of river gauge readings and flood phases and other related information. Reach the Flood Warning Center at 206-296-8200 or 1-800-945-9263. Interpreter assistance in multiple languages is available.
 
King County offers everyone free access to KC Flood Alerts, an automated system that allows subscribers to receive customized alerts of potential flooding for any or all of King County’s seven major river systems.

Immediate notifications about pending high water are sent to email, smart phone text or voicemail, providing subscribers with the maximum amount of warning about potential high water.

Find the KC Flood Alerts link at kingcounty.gov/flood. This website is a valuable preparedness resource, with all of the latest information about river levels and road conditions, plus weather reports and other critical links.

Questions or assistance with flooding on smaller streams or urban drainage problems can be called in to 206-477-4811 during business hours, or 206-477-8100 after hours or on weekends.

Problems on County maintained roads can be reported by calling 206-477-8100 or 1-800-KC-ROADS.

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The King County Flood Control District is a special purpose government created to provide funding and policy oversight for flood protection projects and programs in King County. The Flood Control District’s Board is composed of the members of the King County Council. The Water and Land Resources Division of the King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks develops and implements the approved flood protection projects and programs. Information is available at kingcountyfloodcontrol.org.