Washington State Flood Update: Record River Crests As Unrelenting Rain Finally Starts To Diminish

A mudslide closed part of Interstate 90 in Washington 
State, hitting some vehicles in the process. Record
flooding continue in Washington today. 

The Great Flood of 2025 is peaking in western Washington today after days of torrential rain from a series of atmospheric rivers have swamped vast areas of the states. 

This is one of those disasters that have so much going on that it's hard to keep track. A network of rivers flow out of the Cascades and Olympic mountains. Within that large river network, numerous areas in these hills got more than 10 inches of rain over the past five days. I saw one report of more than 16 inches.  

The area most under the gun is roughly the size of New England, excluding Maine. Major flooding is occurring or forecast on 17 rivers in the region. Some of those will reach record crests.

The flood in Washington also reminds of the big flood we had here in Vermont back in 2023. All those torrents coming down from those hills and mountains, the river valleys with their small towns and cities filling up with water, landslides obliterating parts of roads.

The only big difference is this is a winter, not summer flood. And I'd say more people are being affected than that horrible Green Mountain State disaster in July, 2023.

Up to 100,000 people in Washington have been evacuated in the Skagit River valley alone. It's a densely populated area about an hour north of Seattle. 

In the town of Mount Vernon, the Skagit River is forecast to rise two feet above the previous record high level. "This is a flood we haven't seen before.....The potential for catastrophe flooding is real," said Mount Vernon Mayor Peter Donovan, as reported by KUOW an NPR-affiliated station in Seattle. 

A flood wall was built around Mount Vernon in 2018. Residents are nervously watching to see whether that wall will be enough. 

There is no good time for a catastrophic flood, but one coming in the weeks before Christmas, especially people whose homes and businesses are destroyed by the high water. 

The good news so far is I haven't seen any reports of deaths, but I fear at least a few people have lost or will lose their lives as more information comes in from flooded areas. There have already been some close misses. 

Two people - one clinging to the roof of a vehicle, another in a tree - were rescued via helicopter in eastern King County, as seen on dramatic video posted on X

Video from Live Storms Media shows water from the Snohomish River overtopping levees and flowing into already flooded roads, homes and businesses. 

Another video by Jonathan Petramala shows residents and business owners of Sultan, Washington rapidly sandbagging and evacuating as water rose rapidly from a nearby river. 

Road travel in western Washington today is trying at best. Even part of Interstate 90 shut down due to a mudslide. Amtrak trains between Seattle and Vancouver are suspended due to flooding. 

Atmospheric rivers hit the Pacific Northwest every winter but this one is a doozy. It originated southeast of China and stretched 1,700 miles to Washington. Atmospheric moisture content over Washington broke December records.  

The atmospheric river is so strong it was able to trigger flooding and flood alerts all the way over into northern Idaho and extreme western Montana. Severe flooding was report in Lincoln County, Montana. 

Despite crossing several mountain ranges, the moisture plume from the atmospheric river is setting off a snowstorm in central Montana.

Remaining moisture from the atmospheric river will ride the jet stream southeastward in a long, narrow path from southwestern North Dakota all the way to southwestern Virginia. 

Back in Washington, the short-term forecast is pretty good  Rainfall is much lighter today. Only scattered showers are in the cards for Friday. Saturday will actually be fairly sunny, which is an infrequent occurrence in western Washington.

But the good news is temporary. Rain will restart Sunday and continue all week. It won't be as heavy as what they just saw, but the daily grind of rain will probably prolong the flooding. 

This is also your reminder that climate change has led to more intense rainfall.  We don't know - at least not yet - how much climate change had to do with the Pacific Northwest flood. But it is consistent with the effects of a warmer world.