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Washington residents are preparing for a flood if the “rivers in the sky” also threatened the northwest, which was severely damaged by bad weather earlier this month.
People in the suburbs of Sumas and Everson northwest of Washington were asked to evacuate on Saturday night, The Bellingham Herald reported. All of these towns near the Canadian border were flooded by torrential rains.
An emergency warning said road closures in the area were set to begin Sunday morning.
Flood clocks were issued in most parts of north and north central Washington over the weekend, and the National Weather Service warned that flooding was possible through Sunday.
Heavy rains and rising rivers were also expected over the weekend in the Cascade mountains between the state and the Olympic mountains near the coast.
“We expect rivers to overflow, and in some places the floodwaters may rise in the morning,” said Gary Schneider, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Seattle on Saturday morning.
Schneider said if a flood occurs, it should happen Saturday night or Sunday morning.
Forecasters predict that the atmospheric stream – a heavy trickle that spreads across the Pacific to the northwest – could bring up to 3 inches (7.6 inches) of rainfall in some of the more recent floods.
The government is still monitoring millions of dollars in damage from the last hurricane, also known as a torrent.
Northwest of Washington in Whatcom County, officials said the downfall could be as high as $ 50 million.
The last flood closed the US-Canada border at Sumas with three bridges in Bellingham, and landslides blocked Interstate 5 south of Bellingham.
The end-of-week event this weekend should not be as “dangerous” as the one earlier this month, Schneider said.
“It will still be a very good rain, but (the first flood of this month) was a big event. That’s why we don’t expect to repeat this,” Schneider said.
Weather forecasters predict rainfall on Sunday and Monday should be dry.
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Sara Cline is a member of The Associated Press / Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a global nonprofit program that puts journalists in local newsrooms to report on developments.
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