Flooding

After many feet of snow in the Olympic and Cascade Mountains and even in the lowlands, the weather warmed to the 50's and the rains came. The result is avalanches, landslides, broken trees, and widespread flooding. This morning there is no ground route out of northwestern Washington to the south, east or west. I guess we might still make it north to Canada. I-5 is closed for twenty miles at Chehalis, awaiting the cresting of two local rivers tonight. All side routes are closed due to flooding or landslides. The trains are not running south to Portland. The mountain passes (three major routes) are all closed for avalanche danger or control or standing water. With the snow piled high along the highways, there is no where for the melt off water to run. They have to pump it out. The rain has let up here in Seattle, but the storm will still bring more rain to some areas. The worst of the rain is over for now, however, and now we wait for the flow down out of the mountains to crest in the rivers in the lowlands. Misery is widespread, from stranded pets and farm animals to homes full of mud and water, schools closed, emergency routes blocked, and commerce transportation at a standstill. Trains and trucks loaded with goods are going nowhere. We are lucky, sitting high and dry, trees mostly intact, no damages suffered from ice or snow or rain. But if the Red Cross asks you for money, consider it. Folks will need help. I tried linking you up to news video, but the clips keep changing as they update. Try King 5 News for a selection of videos.