MORE RAIN FORECAST: Season's rainfall 11 inches above average
By The Chronicle, 12/28/98
Sunday's rainfall wasn't quite a record, but the year-to-date number reported by the Centralia Fire Department is more than 11 inches over the annual average of 42.96 inches.
And more rain is expected in the next few days.
In Chehalis, Chehalis Avenue from John Street to the Chehalis Apartments is closed because of water. Florida Avenue from Airport Road to the "S" curves is also closed.
Tim Grochowski, Chehalis street superintendent, expects Shoreline Drive to be closed if the rain continues as predicted.
Centralia reported no street closures this morning, although there were a couple of problems over the weekend. Hickory Road was closed briefly with water over the roadway, and Swanson Drive was blocked for a time Sunday when a huge fir fell across the road, crushing a parked car.
But city crews are getting ready for more rain, and for accompanying flooding.
Terry Calkins, Centralia community development director, was working to. collect and evaluate weather and river data - some of it conflicting - this morning.
"The Chehalis has already crested at Doty," Calkins reported. "We're concerned right now."
He was on his way out the door to check China Creek, a usual local flood barometer.
"It looks like we've got something (coming) slightly larger than the Thanksgiving flood," Calkins said.
Thanksgiving morning, the Chehalis River crested at 69.72 feet at Mellen Street - about an inch over the maximum of a phase I flood. The February 1996 flood level was 74.3 feet.
The Chehalis River was at 62.80 feet at the Mellen Street Bridge at 8:30 a.m., still below the flood stage of 65 feet. The Skookumchuck was at 82.64 feet at the Pearl Street Bridge; flood stage is 85 feet. The Cowlitz River was 12.66 feet at Randle, well below the flood stage of 18 feet.
Airport and Teitzel roads are closed at their low points, and Independence Road has only one lane open because of a rockslide, the Lewis County Public Works Division reported today. There was no estimate when any of those roads would be open again.
Rain is expected to continue intermittently for the next five days, with intensity ranging from showers to downpours.
Temperatures will stay the same, with lows around 35 and highs around 45 for the rest of the week.
Meanwhile, the National Weather Service issued a flood warning for the Skookumchuck and Chehalis rivers in South Thurston County today.
The Skookumchuck River near Bucoda was at 13.92 feet at 4 a.m. today, and was forecast to crest near
15.5 feet around 2 p.m. today, according to Curt Hart, a spokesman with the Thurston County Division of Emergency Management.
'This could cause some minor flooding in Bucoda, and could cause the closure of Highway 507 near Connor Road," Hart said.
Flood stage for the Skookumchuck River at Bucoda is 14.5 feet.
The Chehalis River is forecast to crest near 16 feet at midnight, slightly below the 17-foot crest that occurred Thanksgiving Day, Hart said.
Flood stage for the Chehalis is 13.25 feet.
Thurston County's Division of Emergency Management said the
following roads are expected to flood today: Anderson Road north of U.S. Highway 12, Independence Road at 201st, Moon Road and Anderson Road south of Highway 12, and Independence Road near James Road.
Road closures were not available at The Chronicle's news deadline this morning.
The National Weather Service has forecast heavy rain continuing through Tuesday. The freezing level will be near 7,000 feet, and snowmelt from the recent snowfall may add to runoffs, Hart said.
"We're just bracing ourselves for the next flood episode," he said.
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