The King County Flood Warning Center closed at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 6 after opening in the early hours of Jan. 5 to monitor rapidly rising river levels.
The Flood Warning Center opened at 1:30 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 5, as a strong weather system dumped heavy rainfall across much of western Washington, including King County, where some locations recorded more than 8 inches of rain in 24 hours.
Because of the torrential rain, the Snoqualmie and Tolt rivers reached Phase 4 flood alert levels, with significant flooding in low-lying areas that resulted in multiple road closures. The Green River reached a minor Phase 2 flood alert level as a result of planned releases from a flood-control dam.
Flood Warning Center employees will continue to monitor stream gages and weather reports, and will provide updated information on river conditions as necessary. Real-time river level information is available online at kingcounty.gov/flood.
King County offers 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 six 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.
Updated information on flooding is also posted on the King County website at kingcounty.gov.
During river flooding events, the King County Flood Warning Center serves as a clearinghouse for information on flood conditions, operating a recorded message center with continuous updates of river gage 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.
Questions or assistance with flooding on smaller streams or urban drainage problems can be called in to206-296-1900 during business hours, or 206-296-8100 after hours or on weekends.
Problems on County maintained roads can be reported by calling 206-296-8100 or 1-800-KC-ROADS.
