Flood, W Pacific
- When
- December 27, 12:00 PM PST to December 28, 6:00 PM PST
- Where
- W Pacific forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Flooding in Washington, December 27 to 30, 1998
A Pacific storm on December 27-28 dumped 2 to 5 inches of rain in lowlands and 6 to 10 inches of rain in the Coast Range. This deluge, on top of heavy rain December 25-26, combined with saturated soils and a rapidly melted heavy low elevation snowpack and frozen subsurface soils from the pre-Holiday arctic outbreak to create widespread lowland flooding.
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $500,000
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 2
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 PQR wrote it up.
A Pacific storm on December 27-28 dumped 2 to 5 inches of rain in lowlands and 6 to 10 inches of rain in the Coast Range. This deluge, on top of heavy rain December 25-26, combined with saturated soils and a rapidly melted heavy low elevation snowpack and frozen subsurface soils from the pre-Holiday arctic outbreak to create widespread lowland flooding. The Willapa and Cowlitz River areas were the hardest hit, but fortunately the rain ended December 28 and flood waters receded rapidly Many highways were closed due to slides and washouts, especially along the coast and Coast Range. Fortunately, no deaths or serious injuries were reported during this episode.
Event by event
2 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Flood, E Pacific/W Lewis/Wahkiakum
- When
- December 27, 12:00 PM PST to December 30, 12:00 PM PST
- Where
- E Pacific/W Lewis/Wahkiakum forecast zone
- Property damage
- $500,000
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
What these are
- Flood
- Flooding that develops more slowly than a flash flood: rivers leaving their banks, or water standing over land for an extended time.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Flooding in Oregon, December 27 to 30, 1998
- Heavy Rain in Washington, December 27 to 28, 1998
- Heavy Snow and Winter Weather in Maine, December 27 to 28, 1998
- High Surf in Hawaii, December 27 to 30, 1998
- Heavy Snow and High Wind in Oregon, December 27 to 28, 1998
- Winter Storm in Wyoming, December 27 to 28, 1998
- Heavy Snow in Montana, December 27 to 28, 1998
- High Wind in Colorado, December 27 to 28, 1998
- Heavy Snow in Idaho, December 27 to 28, 1998
- Heavy Snow in Idaho, December 27 to 28, 1998
- Heavy Snow in Idaho, December 27 to 28, 1998
- Cold in Alaska, December 27 to 28, 1998
More
Every storm in Washington in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyWarnings in Washington, December 1998
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: 5677717, 5677718.