Another round of warm, wet weather is forecast to bring flooding back to Snohomish County on Wednesday.
Still, forecasters don’t think the storm, which should hit this evening, will cause a repeat of last week’s widespread damage.
They do predict pastures and farmland could flood again if rivers creep up to predicted levels.
“It looks to be a minor flooding event, if rivers do flood,” said Dennis D’Amico, a National Weather Service meteorologist. “It will not be to the same degree as to what people have just seen.”
Last week, raging rivers flooded low-lying areas in Snohomish County causing evacuations and, so far, about $3.5 million in damage.
The coming storm is different in two important ways, D’Amico said.
There will be less rain. The freezing level is expected to rise to 8,000 feet. That isn’t as high as last week, D’Amico said. It still is high enough to melt snow from every local mountain, including Stevens Pass, except the top of 10,541-foot Glacier Peak.
Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management officials are making preparations.
“We’re of course concerned again,” deputy director Chris Badger said Monday.
In 1990, the second in a pair of back-to-back November storms punched through saturated levees, causing some of the worst flooding the region has experienced.
The county’s emergency operations center remains open, Badger said. Crews are restocking mobile command centers, checking communication systems and taking stock of available sandbags.
As preparations get under way for the next storm, officials on Monday were still trying to tally last week’s damage.
So far, people have reported about $3.5 million in damage to homes and property, Badger said.
Damage to roads is likely several million dollars more, she said.
On Thursday, teams from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the U.S. Small Business Administration are scheduled to join state and local emergency management officials touring flood-damaged areas in Snohomish County.
Results from the assessments will be sent to Gov. Chris Gregoire, said Rob Harper, a spokesman for the Washington Emergency Management Division.
In turn, the governor is expected to ask President Bush for federal disaster relief, Badger said.
Riverside communities such as Snohomish were hit particularly hard last week.
The Snohomish River is forecast to approach flood stage at Snohomish on Thursday. The city is bracing for more damage, Snohomish city manager Larry Bauman.
He said it’s probably too late for the city to do much to fortify the river’s banks before this next storm. There’s little more to do than worry.
Last week, Bauman said he didn’t sleep well at all. This week, the height of the river may dictate his slumber.
“It remains to be seen how high the water gets and how poor my sleep gets,” he said.
People with flood-damaged property are asked to report damage to Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management at 425-388-5060 or by e-mail at dem@ co.snohomish.wa.us.
County officials will use the figures to help Washington state officials apply for federal disaster relief.
Reporter Jackson Holtz: 425-339-3437 or jholtz@heraldnet.com.
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