Flood in Washington, February 22, 2002

Name: Flood in Washington, February 22, 2002
Start: 2002-02-22T14:00
End: 2002-02-22T22:00
Location: Washington

February 22, 2002 · NWS SEW · 1 event in 1 county or zone

The Stillaguamish reached its highest flood stage in years, flooding several major roads and a couple of neighborhoods.

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $2,000
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.

The Stillaguamish reached its highest flood stage in years, flooding several major roads and a couple of neighborhoods.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Seattle, WA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 22, 8:57 AM PST, 5 hours 3 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 22, 8:57 AM PST, 5 hours 3 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SEATTLE WA
857 AM PST FRI FEB 22 2002

.SYNOPSIS...A COLD FRONT WILL SAG SOUTH ACROSS THE AREA MIDDAY...AS A
LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM FORMS AT THE MOUTH OF THE COLUMBIA RIVER THIS
EVENING. LOCALLY HEAVY RAINS WILL CONTINUE SOUTH OF THIS FRONT TODAY.
HOWEVER BEHIND THIS FRONT THE COLDEST AIR OF THIS WINTER SEASON WILL
BUILD IN OVER THE AREA THROUGH THE WEEKEND. HIGH PRESSURE WILL
DOMINATE INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK.

.DISCUSSION...SATELLITE SHOWING PLUME OF MOISTURE XTNDG N INTO SRN
B.C. WHERE IT RAPIDLY ARCHES EWD. COMPLEX PATTERN WITH AREA CAUGHT
BTWN DEVELOPING SPLIT FLOW..WITH DRIER/COLDER NRN BRANCH SLOWLY
SAGGING S OVR CWA THIS WKND. WAVE THAT FORMED OFF OR CST REALLY
DELAYING ADVANCEMENT OF FNTL SYS IN NRN BRANCH...THAT WILL CONTINUE
WET WARMTH OVR MOST OF CWA TODAY. PER NEW ETA/MM5 UPDATED QPS #S AND
ESSENTIALLY DOUBLED AMTS FROM SKY S THRU 12Z SAT. NEW PCPN THRU SAT
IN VIC OF ANOTHER 1-2 INCHES...WITH HEAVIEST AMTS CENTRAL CASCDS
FOOTHLLS.  FLOOD WARNINGS XTNDD AND NOW INCLUDE TOLT WITH WATCH XTNDD
TO KING CO. CDFNT OVR XTRM NRN CWA NOONISH...DOWN TO KSEA TONIGHT.
FNT STALLING AS STACKED CLOSED SFC AND 850MB LOWS FORM OVR KSEA AREA
TONIGHT/SAT AND SLOWLY MOVES S TO S INTERIOR SUN MORNING...THAT WILL
FURTHER DELAY CLEARING. INCRG NLY GRADS OVR NRN INTERIOR ONLY TO FEED
DRY/COOL AIR INTO THAT AREA TONIGHT...THAT CONVERGES WITH WARM MOIST
AIR TO S... AND HELPS FEED CIRCULATION OVR PGTSND TO CONTINUE
INSTABILITY. WILL MAKE BIG ADJUSTMENTS TO ZONES TO REFLECT THIS
DELAYED CLRG OVR CENTRAL/SRN ZONES...AND RAISE POPS/MIN TEMPS
ACCORDINGLY FOR THOSE AREAS.
.EXTENDED...NO CHG WITH FULL AGREEMENT TO CHC PCPN TUE/WED GIVEN
SECOND DAY OF CONSISTENT MDLS...AND FACT CANADIAN MDL NOW LEANING TWD
THIS SOLN.  GOTTA LUV THOSE CANADIANS.    QUERCIAGROSSA

UIL +41  SEA +74  OLM +74

.SEW...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY ALL WATERS EXCEPT ADMIRALTY INLET.
    ...FLOOD WATCHES AND WARNINGS IN EFFECT.

.KATX...VCP21...OPERATIONAL.

In the hours before

Local storm report, Feb 22, 1:48 PM PST, 12 minutes before

WAC045-WAC027-WAC009-230048-

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SEATTLE WA
148 PM PST FRI FEB 22 2002

TIME(PST)  CITY LOCATION           STATE   EVENT/SPOTTER/REMARKS
           COUNTY LOCATION

830 AM     HOODSPORT                  WA   HEAVY RAIN
02/22/02   MASON                           MASON 17H
                                           24 HR RAINFALL ENDING AT
                                           8 AM WAS 2.21 INCHES

835 AM     PACIFIC BEACH              WA   HEAVY RAIN
02/22/02   GRAYS HARBOR                    GRAYS HARBOR 1H
                                           24 HR RAINFALL ENDING AT
                                           8 AM WAS 2.65 INCHES.

915 AM     PORT ANGELES               WA   HEAVY RAIN
02/22/02   CLALLAM                         CLALLAM 20
                                           24 HR RAINFALL ENDING AT
                                           9 AM WAS 2.85 INCHES.

1115 AM    SEKIU                      WA   HEAVY RAIN
02/22/02   CLALLAM                         CLALLAM 2
                                           36 HOUR RAINFALL ENDING
                                           AT 11 AM WAS 7.46 INCHES.

Event by event

1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, W Skagit/Nw Snohomish

When: February 22, 2:00 PM PST to 10:00 PM PST
Where: W Skagit/Nw Snohomish forecast zone
Property damage: $2,000
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.

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

Every storm in Washington in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Washington, February 2002

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: 5282867.