Flooding in Washington, January 7 to 10, 2002

Name: Flooding in Washington, January 7 to 10, 2002
Start: 2002-01-07T16:00
End: 2002-01-10T07:00
Location: Washington

January 7 to 10, 2002 · NWS SEW · 7 events in 7 counties and zones

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $200,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 7

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.

Heavy rain caused widespread flooding in western Washington. The Cowlitz, Chehalis, Satsop, Elwha, Dungeness, Skokomish, Puyallup, Snoqualmie, Skykomish, Snohomish, Stillaguamish, Skagit, and Nooksack Rivers flooded. The Deschutes and the Tolt crested just below flood stage. The most serious flooding occurred on the Elwha, Dungeness, and Skagit Rivers. The crest on the Dungeness was probably a new record (pending certification by USGS), and was around a 25-year recurrence interval flood. Crests on most other rivers were between 2- and 10-year floods. Several roads in the region were closed and a few homes were damaged. One road in the Bremerton area was completely washed out and cut off access to nearly a dozen homes.

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 Jan 7, 2:30 PM PST, 1 hour 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 7, 2:30 PM PST, 1 hour 30 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SEATTLE WA
230 PM PST MON JAN 7 2002

.SYNOPSIS...A MILD WET WEATHER SYSTEM WILL SLOWLY MOVE EAST INTO THE
CASCADES TONIGHT. STEADY RAIN WILL CHANGE TO SHOWERS. SHOWERS WILL
CONTINUE ON TUESDAY AS AN UPPER LEVEL TROUGH MOVES THROUGH. A RIDGE
OF HIGH PRESSURE WILL BUILD OVER THE AREA WEDNESDAY...BRINGING SOME
FOG. ON THURSDAY ANOTHER SYSTEM WILL BRUSH WESTERN WASHINGTON WITH A
CHANCE OF RAIN.

.DISCUSSION...KIND OF A LULL IN PCPN OVER PUGET SOUND TODAY BUT STILL
RAINING BUCKETS IN THE OLYMPICS. ALSO THERE APPEARS TO BE SOME LOW
ELEVATION SNOW MELTING--SNOW IN THE 1000 FOOT TO 3000 FOOT RANGE. THE
RAIN COUPLED WITH THIS MELTING SNOW IS DRIVING SOME CASCADE RIVERS TO
FLOOD STAGE. VERY MILD WITH SOME TEMPS IN THE 60S. LITTLE CHANGE IN
TEMPS UNTIL FRONT PASSES...03Z ON THE COAST AND 06Z INLAND.

SATELLITE PICTURES SHOW SOME EASTWARD MOVEMENT OF THE CONVEYOR BELT
BUT A WAVE OR TWO STILL NEED TO MOVE UP ALONG THE SYSTEM BEFORE WE
ARE DONE WITH THE RAIN. THEN SHOWERS TUE AS UPPER TROUGH MOVES
THROUGH. THEN A RIDGE WED WITH SOME FOG. AND FINALLY A NEW SYSTEM
COMES IN THU...NEWER MODELS A BIT WETTER WITH THIS ONE THAN PREVIOUS
RUNS SO WILL SPREAD CHANCE OF RAIN OVER THE WHOLE AREA.

IN EXTENDED PROGS APPEAR TO TAKE WET SYSTEMS MOSTLY NORTH INTO
VANCOUVER ISLAND. WILL BROAD BRUSH WITH RAIN MAINLY NORTH. BURKE

UIL +841  SEA +841  OLM +841
.SEW...GALE WARNING COAST...ENTRANCES TO THE STRAIT...ADMIRALTY
       INLET...AND CAMANO ISLAND TO POINT ROBERTS.
       SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY...PUGET SOUND AND HOOD CANAL.
.KATX...VCP21/CSR21...OPERATIONAL.

In the hours before

Local storm report, Jan 7, 12:50 PM PST, 3 hours 10 minutes before

WAC009-072350-

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SEATTLE WA
1250 PM PST MON JAN 07 2002

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

1230 PM    W OF SEKIU                 WA   HEAVY RAIN
01/07/02   CLALLAM                         CLALLAM 2
                                           4.34 INCHES IN PAST 24
                                           HRS.

Local storm report, Jan 7, 1:21 PM PST, 2 hours 39 minutes before

WAC031-080021-

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SEATTLE WA
121 PM PST MON JAN 07 2002

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

110 PM     BRINNON                    WA   HEAVY RAIN
01/07/02   JEFFERSON                       JEFFERSON 14H
                                           3.45 INCHES IN PAST 30
                                           HRS.

Event by event

7 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, Olympics

When: January 7, 4:00 PM PST to January 10, 7:00 AM PST
Where: Olympics forecast zone
Property damage: $200,000
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.

Flood, Hood Canal/Kitsap Peninsula

When: January 7, 4:00 PM PST to January 10, 7:00 AM PST
Where: Hood Canal/Kitsap Peninsula forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.

Flood, Everett and Vicinity

When: January 7, 4:00 PM PST to January 10, 7:00 AM PST
Where: Everett and Vicinity forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.

Flood, Southwest Interior

When: January 7, 4:00 PM PST to January 10, 7:00 AM PST
Where: Southwest Interior forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.

Flood, Seattle Metropolitan Area

When: January 7, 4:00 PM PST to January 10, 7:00 AM PST
Where: Seattle Metropolitan Area forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.

Flood, Northwest Interior

When: January 7, 4:00 PM PST to January 10, 7:00 AM PST
Where: Northwest Interior forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.

Flood, Western Whatcom

When: January 7, 4:00 PM PST to January 10, 7:00 AM PST
Where: Western Whatcom forecast zone
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, January 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: 5276488, 5276489, 5276490, 5276491, 5276492, 5276493, 5276494.