Debris Flow, Snohomish
- When
- January 15, 10:30 PM PST
- Where
- Snohomish County, Edmonds
- Coordinates
- 48.046, -121.722 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Debris Flow in Washington, January 15, 1997
A mudslide in Edmonds covered 200 feet of railroad track, went 900 feet into Puget Sound, and was up to 25 feet deep. The slide knocked 5 cars from a passing train into Puget Sound, some with second class mail.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What happened
The episode as NWS SEW wrote it up.
A mudslide in Edmonds covered 200 feet of railroad track, went 900 feet into Puget Sound, and was up to 25 feet deep. The slide knocked 5 cars from a passing train into Puget Sound, some with second class mail. Amtrak suspended passenger service along the tracks and it cost them money in passengers cancelling. Round the clock maintanence was kept on the tracks from Everett to Seattle as nearly 100 slides effected the tracks since the first of the year.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 debris flow. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Debris Flow
- A fast-moving slurry of mud, rock and debris, usually on a slope soaked by heavy rain or stripped by a fire.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Winter Storm in Illinois, January 15 to 18, 1997
- Blizzard in North Dakota, January 15 to 16, 1997
- Cold in South Dakota, January 15 to 16, 1997
- Winter Storm in Illinois, January 15 to 17, 1997
- Cold in Iowa, January 15 to 16, 1997
- Tornado in Florida, January 15, 1997
- Tornado in Mississippi, January 15, 1997
- Tornado in Florida, January 15, 1997
- Tornado in Florida, January 15, 1997
- Tornado in Florida, January 15, 1997
- Tornado in Florida, January 15, 1997
- High Wind in Iowa, January 15 to 16, 1997
More
Every storm in Washington in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Washington, January 1997
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5585224.