Flood in Washington, December 29 to 31, 1996

The snow changed to rain by 10 am causing numerous flooded streets, basement apartments and mudslides. By that evening anywhere from an inch to an inch and a half of rain fell on top of the snow cover and temperatures rose to near 50 degrees. By the next day, seatac nearly had a record high. Road and urban flooding was widespread. So many roads were closed due to flooding that the city of Seattle ran out of "road closed" signs. 10 police cruisers were shorted out due to the standing water. Hundreds of basements flooded. The Chelalis peaked at 70.2 ft, 5 feet above flood stage. Hospitals at this time were 90 to 105% full. There were nearly 100 different mudslides and between them and flooded roads, 25 state routes were closed. An estimated $21 million damage to roads. On the coast it was even worse. In the 36 hrs ending at 8 am Dec. 30th Cosmopolis was swamped with 5.97 inches of rain. Pacific Beach had 4.06 in 24 hours, Elma 3.85, and Brinnon, 2.75 all ending at 8 am. A mudslide blocked all four lanes of US Hwy 12, the main route into Hoquiam. Adding to the misery was swells of 22 to 25 ft along the coast. A Redmond man was killed when a tree crashed down on his moving vehicle. The tree was loosened by a flooded stream and gusty winds.