FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Flood Watch Issued in Skagit County
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The U.S. National Weather Service has issued a Flood Watch for Skagit County through Wednesday evening on December 6, 2023. A combination of snow melt and heavy rains from multiple atmospheric rivers will push some rivers and coastal plains to flood stage by Tuesday evening, extending through Wednesday evening. Skagit County will activate the Emergency Operations Center at 6:00 a.m. tomorrow, December 5, 2023.
Currently, the Skagit River is forecasted to peak at 38.87 feet in Concrete around 4:00 p.m. on December 5, 2023, and 34.66 feet near Mount Vernon around 4:00 p.m. on December 6, 2023. As a comparison, during the flooding events in 2021 Concrete crested at 38.93 feet and Mount Vernon crested at 36.89 feet. We ask the public to please take this flood emergency seriously and follow any safety recommendations from public agencies. In previous flood events there have been injuries to the public and law enforcement members during flood rescues and we do not wish to have those repeated.
As a reminder, please do not drive over flooded roadways and practice ?Don?t drown, turn around?. Follow road closure and cautionary signs and don?t drive around barricades. Water can be deeper and faster moving than anticipated, presenting risks to drivers.
Residents should be prepared to potentially take action over the next 24 hours to protect their homes, families, and livestock from floodwaters. For health and safety related information about floods, visit the Skagit County Emergency Information webpage: https://www.skagitcounty.net/Departments/EmergencyInformation/main.htm
For updated river forecasts, please call the River Level Hotline at (360) 416-1404 or visit the National Weather Service webpage below for the most recent hydrographs.?
https://water.weather.gov/ahps2/hydrograph.php?wfo=sew&gage=mvew1
To monitor road closures, visit the Skagit County road closure webpage here: https://www.skagitcounty.net/reporting/roadclose/
If you have questions, or are looking for a location to pick up sandbags, please contact Skagit County Department of Emergency Management at (360) 416-1850.
For more emergency information,?sign up for the emergency information listserv,?CodeRed Alerts?or follow Skagit County on Twitter @SkagitGov and Facebook @SkagitCountyWA. The River Level Hotline at (360) 416-1404 and?www.skagitcounty.net/flood?are updated frequently during events and can be resources for information as well.
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