Rivers expected to swell with rain, snowmelt

If forecasters are accurate in calling for rain over the next couple days, there may be more concern over rising waters than cracking ice.

Temperatures, which reached 52 degrees late Tuesday in Yakima, will remain warm. In the Cascades, rain falling atop recent heavy snowfall is expected to spike flows in the Naches River near Naches and in the Yakima River Canyon to near the top of their banks by Thursday.

The National Weather Service River Forecast Center’s projection Tuesday was for the Naches to peak at nearly 15 feet by late Thursday. A river stage of 15 feet is considered bankfull, while flood level for the Naches is 17 feet.

The Yakima River is predicted to crest above 33 feet, near its bankfull level, by late Thursday. However, the flows in both rivers will be at high levels only briefly, according to the center.

The weather service forecast calls for steady rain today and Thursday on the eastern slopes of the central Cascades, with temperatures staying in the mid-30s to lower 40s. Overnight temperatures Thursday are expected to dip back below freezing, with a mix of rain and snow showers in the mountains.

In the Yakima area, rain is in the forecast through Thursday.

High winds forced the Department of Transportation to close Interstate 82 between Yakima and Ellensburg at 9 p.m. Tuesday. Wind also caused about 500 Pacific Power customers in the Yakima Valley to report outages beginning at 7 p.m.

In addition, State Route 410 was closed at Bumping River Road because of fallen trees, the state DOT announced.

The closure, about 40 miles west of Yakima, started about 5:15 p.m. and is expected to last through this morning.

Interstate 90 over Snoqualmie Pass, where rain was falling Tuesday evening, remains subject to temporary closures when avalanche control work is required.

West of White Pass in Lewis County, one of 13 Western Washington counties under a flood watch, the Cowlitz River near Packwood was expected to exceed flood stage by late Thursday or early Friday.

However, the stream flow was forecast to drop rapidly after its brief crest above flood stage, according to the River Forecast Center.

Lewis County commissioners declared an emergency earlier this week to ask for state help in responding to winter storms. As much as 4 feet of snow was reported in some places in the Packwood area, and the Associated Press reported that local officials and volunteers were working to remove snow from roofs to keep them from collapsing.