Rain pelts Everett, bringing flood risk and road closures

EVERETT — From wind to flooding, Snohomish County is drowning in weather warnings Tuesday.

Continuous heavy rain means a flood watch until 10 a.m. Wednesday. On Tuesday morning, only the Snohomish River — in Snohomish and Monroe — neared flood stage, according to the National Weather Service. Over the coming days, minor flooding is in the forecast for the Stillaguamish River in Arlington.

Coastal areas, like Everett, were also in a separate flood advisory until 1 p.m. Tuesday.

This appeared to be prescient, as Highway 529 was briefly closed in both directions Tuesday morning at the Snohomish River Bridge as heavy rain hit Everett, leading to reports of at least four feet of water rising under the highway, authorities said.

Around 9 a.m., crews from the Everett and Marysville fire departments and Everett police were at the scene. They were working to help people stranded at a local business, who were not in danger but needed to be brought to safer land. At 9:35 a.m., the highway was reopened.

The cause of the flooding wasn’t immediately clear, but Everett fire officials said it could be due to a levee breach or high tides. Crews were putting sand bags down to help the situation.

Around 10 a.m., flooding also temporarily closed West Marine View Drive in Everett.

A wind advisory is also in effect until the early hours of Wednesday morning. This was expected to bring sustained winds of 20 to 30 mph, with gusts up to 50, to the Everett area. That could knock over power lines or trees, as soil has been saturated by the melting of last week’s snow as well as continued rainfall through the holiday weekend, said Steve Reedy, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Seattle.

“The soil can only hold so much moisture before it starts to run off,” Reedy said, noting the threat of landslides in these conditions.

Around 10:20 a.m., less than 200 customers of the Snohomish County Public Utility District were without power. But the district urged people to restock their emergency kits and charge electronic devices. You should also secure anything loose in your yard that could get blown away, Reedy warned.

And if you plan to travel, take things slow and keep lots of distance to other cars. If you encounter standing water on the road, don’t try to keep going.

“You don’t know how deep that will be,” Reedy said. “Turn around. Don’t drown.”

On Monday, Everett got between half an inch and an inch of rain, Reedy said. Tuesday was expected to be similar. Snow melt from the mountains was also exacerbating the situation.

But as the week wears on, the rain is predicted to continue, but it’ll likely be weaker. Thursday and Friday’s rain shouldn’t exceed half an inch, the meteorologist noted.

Over the weekend, the area is expected to dry out, forecasts show.

Meanwhile, the Cascades in Snohomish County were expected to get another 8 to 12 inches of snow above 2,500 feet elevation. Stevens Pass remained closed, with no estimated reopening time due to compact snow and ice on U.S. 2.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Jake Goldstein-Street: 425-339-3439; jake.goldstein-street@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @GoldsteinStreet.