Street flooding across Tacoma, region as heavy rains continue. Forecast calls for more
The National Weather Service warned of urban flooding across Tacoma and the rest of the Puget Sound area Friday morning as heavy rains swept across the region.
The Weather Service reported on Twitter about 7:45 a.m. that 2.44 inches of rain had fallen in Tacoma in the previous 24 hours.
More was forecast.
“There is an advisory for urban flooding in effect the rest of this morning ... for the entire Seattle-Tacoma-Olympia metro areas. Heavy rain will continue to fall this morning.”
There were reports of flooded roadways from Tacoma to Tukwila, and the Weather Service and local authorities warned people not to drive through standing water.
Joe Izenman tweeted Friday morning, “To whom it may concern: the Pacific Ave and South Tacoma Way intersection is closed for flooding. If your morning travels take you under the Sounder track on Pacific, find yourself an alternative.”
WSDOT Tacoma Traffic tweeted this just before 8:30 a.m.: “Expect 1 lane closed of NB and SB I-5 near Berkeley St intermittently today due to standing water. Crews are clearing drains as fast as they can, but there’s a lot of water and more is coming.”
The latest Weather Service forecast:
“A very wet weather system will continue to impact the area through Saturday with heavy rain and mountain snow. Activity becomes more showery Sunday before tapering off. Drier and cooler conditions expected early next week with possible unsettled weather late in the week.”
This story was originally published December 20, 2019 at 8:39 AM.
