As a winter storm blows through Western Washington, warnings have been issued for overflowing rivers and avalanche danger in the Cascades.
The National Weather Service issued a flood warning for the Puyallup River above Orting, though any flooding was expected to be minor. Forecasters said the river should crest at 7,600 cubic feet per second this morning.
The flood threshold is 4,500 cubic feet per second.
Areas expected to be most affected include Neadham Road, Orville Road East south of Brooks Road East and north of Electron Road and the Tomolla Tree Farm area.
Crews will patrol the river until it subsides tonight, said Tony Fantello, who is in charge of Pierce County’s 92 miles of levees.
“Hopefully we won’t see much damage,” he said. “But we’re at the ready.”
The flood warning, which was also issued for the Tolt and Snoqualmie rivers, will expire Thursday afternoon.
A flood watch also is in effect for most other rivers in Western Washington draining off the Cascades.
Forecasters said 4 to 7 inches of rain was expected, mostly in the mountains.
The rains, which are falling on top of recent heavy snow, elevated the avalanche danger in the Cascades and Olympics. On Tuesday, Interstate 90 over Snoqualmie Pass and state Route 2 across Stevens Pass were closed for avalanche control.
Nearly 34 inches of powder fell in Snoqualmie Pass over the weekend, and officials were worried about a blowout – when water builds up behind a snowbank and then bursts through with a whoosh of water and debris on the roadway.
The 11-hour closure caused long traffic backups to North Bend and Ellensburg.
With more snow projected to fall in the mountains today, the freezing level will rise to 7,000 feet.
A winter weather advisory is in effect for the Central Cascades through tonight. Up to 12 inches could fall in the Paradise area of Mount Rainier National Park, according to the Weather Service.
In the lowlands, showers are predicted to continue until Thursday, starting back up again Friday. Daytime temperatures will remain in the high 40s.
At Paradise, temperatures will hover in the low 30s with snow forecast for the next few days.
Stacia Glenn: 253-597-8653
stacia.glenn@thenewstribune.com
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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