Published: Monday, December 3, 2007
Rain, wind pummel Snohomish, Island counties
By Jackson Holtz and Diana Hefley
Herald Writers
From Whidbey Island to Stevens Pass, today’s weather is causing dangerous problems, turning streets to rivers, weighing down hillsides and swelling rivers.
Strong winds and drenching rain is pummeling the lowlands while wet snow continues to pile up in the mountains.
Urban flood warnings, high wind warnings and a flood watch for the region’s rivers have been issued.
The National Weather Service in Seattle was warning people to avoid driving into standing water on streets.
Water can be deeper than expected, cause vehicles to stall and strand or kill motorists, officials warned.
The large volume of water was forcing evacuations in some areas of Everett and Lynnwood.
A pond spilled into the Wilshire Cove Apartments on 198th Street SW and 50th Avenue W, Lynnwood Fire spokeswoman Marybeth O’Leary said.
About a foot of water had filled the first-floor units, forcing officials to evacuate about five people to the Lynnwood Recreation Center, she said.
“This is way beyond sand bagging. We’re just getting people out of the way,” O’Leary said.
A retention pond on the Rinker Materials property also gave way, forcing Everett Police to evacuate about a half dozen homes on Glenwood Avenue near Merrill Creek Parkway as a precaution, Everett Police Sgt. Robert Goetz said.
Glenwood Avenue between Kenwood Drive to Merrill Creek Parkway will be closed for the day as crews clean up the mess, he said.
Stevens Pass was closed due to snow slides, heavy snow and rain, state Department of Transportation officials said.
This morning’s Sounder train service to Seattle was canceled due to mud on the tracks.
Police and fire crews county wide were responding to car accidents, small mudslides and downed power lines.
Heavy winds were forecast to blow through the area until this afternoon, forecasters said.
About 1,600 Snohomish County Public Utility District customers in the Clearview area lost power for a time this morning when a tree fell into power lines, spokesman Mike Thorne said.
Crews were able to restore power to all but 400 customers within a few hours, he said.
The utility was bracing for the worst.
“All of our crews are on standby,” he said.
The heavy rain and wind is expected late into the evening, forecasters said.
Rivers in the county are under a flood watch and are expected to crest early Tuesday.
“The rivers in Snohomish County appear to be rising, though not expected to go into flood stage,” county Department of Emergency Management officials said this morning. “We do anticipate quickly rising waters at times today, and ask added caution be maintained around the rivers. Do not drive through rivers, creeks, or urban flooded areas if at all possible.”
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