It’s no Hurricane Sandy, but the Puget Sound area is enduring a major downpour of its own.
Since Tuesday, nearly 4 inches of rain has fallen in parts of Pierce County and other lowland areas of the Sound – enough to clog drains and cause minor flooding throughout the region.
And it’s supposed to stay wet for a while.
National Weather Service forecasters say there’s an 80 percent chance of rain today, down slightly from Wednesday’s 100 percent.
Things should start clearing up by Friday, according to the Weather Service.
The clouds still will hang around, but the chance of rain will drop to 20 percent, forecasters say.
On Wednesday, the Weather Service issued an urban and small-stream flood advisory for Pierce and Thurston counties, along with nine other Puget Sound counties that wrap around the Sound from the Canada border to Grays Harbor.
A flood advisory is basically a call for caution, meaning river and stream flows are elevated and water is standing in ponds on roads and low areas.
The first heavy rain of the season coincided with falling leaves, a recipe for clogged drains in urban areas. Several cities issued advisories Wednesday, urging residents to help public works departments by clearing leaves from street drains.
“City of Tacoma surface water crews do their best to keep Tacoma’s 22,000-plus storm drains working properly,” said Mike Kennedy in the City’s Environmental Services Department. “However, citizens can make a big difference in preventing street and property flooding due to clogged storm drains by picking up fallen leaves.”
rob.carson@thenewstribune.com
253-597-8693
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