Storm causes floods, up to 200 lightning strikes in county

EVERETT — Another intense overnight rainstorm left Snohomish County with a familiar scenario on Friday: wet roads, sewage overflows and flooded basements.

Roughly an inch and a half of rain fell in some areas. Up to 200 lightning strikes were recorded in the county as well, mostly between 11 p.m. Thursday and 1 a.m. Friday, said Johnny Burg, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Seattle. Western Washington saw maybe 6,000 lightning strikes in all. There were reports of people struck in other parts of the region.

Saturday’s weather forecast was looking better with some showers. Sunshine is bound to return next week, Burg said Friday.

South county and north county did OK during the storm, according to the local fire departments. The Stanwood area saw a lot of rain and lightning, but little flooding.

Lightning and other weather woes caused a few small power outages in Stanwood as well, according to Snohomish County PUD. About 300 customers lost power for up to two hours.

The power problems complicated printing The Herald, which delayed delivery of Friday’s paper for many customers.

Arlington hosted repeated, reverberating booms of thunder throughout Thursday night. Lynnwood was quiet, weather-wise.

There were a few reports of tree branches into power lines, but no major flooding in south county, said Leslie Hynes, spokeswoman for Snohomish County Fire District 1.

“Things don’t look so bad today,” said Robert McGaughey, Mukilteo’s public works director, on Friday.

City crews went out Friday morning and checked on the roads, he said. The city also offered a sand-bagging site before the storm began.

“We armed ourselves with a couple of pallets of sandbags,” he said. “That’s probably why we dodged the bullet.”

The water at Lighthouse Park was ruled safe again too, McGaughey said. The parking lot there flooded a bit from the rain combined with a high tide, but the Mukilteo Lighthouse Festival was good to go.

Everett was not so lucky.

For the second time in two weeks, the rain overwhelmed the stormwater system, causing flooding and sewage overflow.

The city had planned to reopen beaches at Pigeon Creek and Howarth Park. That’s now on hold, public works spokeswoman Marla Carter said Friday. Crews were out sampling Friday and, depending on the results, will re-assess on Saturday.

“If things had been normally, we would have reopened them today,” Carter said. “We’re just being cautious here.”

At this point, the city has received about 30 claims for damage.

The number of people who’ve had their homes and property damaged in Everett rivals the urban flooding that struck the city’s north end in 2010. This time, however, the impact is more widespread.

Several teams were out Friday morning working cleanup. City officials also are having constant discussions about long-term upgrades, Carter said.

Sunday morning should be cloudy, but that ought to turn into sunshine, with highs in the 70s, said Burg with the weather service.

“After that it looks to be dry and warming up a little bit by Tuesday and Wednesday,” he said. “Then things will cool back down. If you like sunny and nice weather, that’s what it’s looking like, starting Sunday.”

Rikki King: 425-339-3449, rking@heraldnet.com.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

Lynnwood police respond to a collision on highway 99 at 176 street SW. (Photo provided by Lynnwood Police)
Southbound lanes on Highway 99 reopen after crash

The crash, on Highway 99 at 176th Street SW, blocked traffic for over an hour. Traffic was diverted to 168th Street SW.

The view of Mountain Loop Mine out the window of a second floor classroom at Fairmount Elementary on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
County: Everett mining yard violated order to halt work next to school

At least 10 reports accused OMA Construction of violating a stop-work order next to Fairmount Elementary. A judge will hear the case.

Imagine Children's Museum's incoming CEO, Elizabeth "Elee" Wood. (Photo provided by Imagine Children's Museum)
Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett to welcome new CEO

Nancy Johnson, who has led Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett for 25 years, will retire in June.

Kelli Littlejohn, who was 11 when her older sister Melissa Lee was murdered, speaks to a group of investigators and deputies to thank them for bringing closure to her family after over 30 years on Thursday, March 28, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘She can rest in peace’: Jury convicts Bothell man in 1993 killing

Even after police arrested Alan Dean in 2020, it was unclear if he would stand trial. He was convicted Thursday in the murder of Melissa Lee, 15.

Ariel Garcia, 4, was last seen Wednesday morning in an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Dr. (Photo provided by Everett Police)
Search underway to find missing Everett child, 4

Ariel Garcia was last seen Wednesday morning at an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Drive.

The rezoned property, seen here from the Hillside Vista luxury development, is surrounded on two sides by modern neighborhoods Monday, March 25, 2024, in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Despite petition, Lake Stevens OKs rezone for new 96-home development

The change faced resistance from some residents, who worried about the effects of more density in the neighborhood.

Rep. Suzan DelBene, left, introduces Xichitl Torres Small, center, Undersecretary for Rural Development with the U.S. Department of Agriculture during a talk at Thomas Family Farms on Monday, April 3, 2023, in Snohomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Under new federal program, Washingtonians can file taxes for free

At a press conference Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene called the Direct File program safe, easy and secure.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.