Submitted by Grays Harbor County Emergency Management
The National Weather Service in Seattle has indicated a series of strong, intermittent, heavy rain systems will continue to impact the county through Monday.
A Flood Watch is in effect until 4:00 a.m. Saturday morning. All area rivers are rising slowly due to the heavy rainfall in the mountains. Rivers of concern are the Satsop and the Chehalis. At this time, no rivers in Grays Harbor County are forecast to reach flood stage.
Models indicate the possibility of 10-13 inches of heavy rain in the mountains and 1-4 inches in the lowlands and coastal regions through Monday. Very gusty winds are forecast to accompany the storms along the coast which will create high surf conditions.
The heaviest rainfall in Grays Harbor County will occur in the areas of Amanda Park and Lake Quinault where they could see 4-7 inches, possibly more, by Monday.
The models predict there will be significant breaks in the heavy rainfall making it likely that any river flooding that may occur will be minor, however conditions could change, making more widespread flooding possible. It is unlikely any major river flooding will occur. The breaks in the rainfall are expected to occur Thursday afternoon, Friday afternoon into Saturday morning and much of the day Sunday.
As the storm systems move through the county, the potential for landslides will increase as heavy rain accompanies each advancing storm system. Areas where landslides have occurred in the past can be susceptible to future landslides.
Grays Harbor County Emergency Management will continue to monitor the forecasts with the National Weather Service through the weekend.
Please use caution while driving during periods of heavy rainfall as visibility is hampered and pooling of water can make roadways extremely hazardous.
