Thursday evening, February 6, 2020, a reverse 911 message was sent to Carnation residents by the King County Sheriff’s Office and its Emergency Operations center warning of the possibility that Carnation could become “an island” due to road closures caused by flooding.
Thursday night the City of Carnation stated via social media, “The EOC is getting reports from the Carnation area that only one road is available to get in and out between Fall City and Carnation. The flood warning center believes that by [Friday] morning Carnation may be an island due to the cresting water.”
The city said the EOC was working to get a large National Guard vehicle to Eastside Fire and Rescue to use for any potential rescue needs that King County Sheriff Office vehicles cannot access.
Local residents say it has been a decade since Carnation became an island due to flooding. Early Friday morning residents reported SR 203 between Carnation and Fall City was still open, though.
The Riverview School District announced it was closed due to flooding on Friday, February 7th. The Snoqualmie Valley School District was open on time, with some bus routes impacted by flooding – see list of road closures below.
You can find more real time road closures at King County Road Services.
At 5:45AM the Snoqualmie River in Carnation was at phase 3 flood level – running at 33,500 cfs – and is expected to crest Friday evening, February 7th at around 35,000 cfs, which is lower than the 45,000 cfs predicted just one day ago. The Tolt River in Carnation was also at a phase 3 flood level.
Snoqualmie Weather’s Ryan Porter said high soil saturations levels due to heavy rain last week were putting extra pressure on area creeks and rivers, but that creeks see more impact than big basin rivers. Porter said the Issaquah Creek reached its highest flood level since January 2009.
The high soil saturation and heavy rain triggered another landslide on SR 18 near Tiger Mountain Thursday evening. The slide occurred around 7:30PM and also brought down a large tree that hit a car. WSP Trooper Rick Johnson said luckily none of the vehicle’s three occupants were injured.
The eastbound lanes of SR 18 just west of Issaquah-Hobart Road were blocked for about three hours while WSDOT crews cleared the roadway. One westbound lane was also impacted by the tree.
Moderate to heavy rain is expected to continue on Friday before turning to showers on Saturday. Rain in the Cascades is expected to transition back to snow Friday night, with a winter storm warning in place. Sunshine is forecast on Sunday and Monday for the Snoqualmie Valley.
