The last mudslide on Beach Drive in mid December closed the road. The National Weather Service is warning that heavy rains may cause land and mudslides again in area prone to them.
The National Weather Service has issued a special weather statement regarding the heavy rainfall. In slide prone West Seattle any hillsides, such as the area on Beach Drive or along Alki Beach may see some mudslide activity. Winds are also expected to be 20 to 24 mph with gusts as high as 37 mph.
4:09 pm
A SERIES OF WEATHER SYSTEMS HAS PRODUCED LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL ACROSS WESTERN WASHINGTON OVER THE PAST 5 DAYS. SEATAC AIRPORT HAS RECEIVED AROUND 2.5 INCHES OF RAIN WHILE LOCATIONS NEAR THE CASCADES...ALONG THE COAST...
AND IN THE SOUTH INTERIOR HAVE RECEIVED MUCH MORE. SOIL MOISTURE LEVELS AROUND WESTERN WASHINGTON ARE HIGH. ANOTHER ROUND OF PRECIPITATION RANGING FROM 0.25 TO 0.5 INCHES IN THE LOWLANDS AND OVER AN INCH IN THE MOUNTAINS IS EXPECTED TONIGHT AS A COLD FRONT MOVES ACROSS THE AREA. THE RAINFALL MAY PUT CONTINUED PRESSURE ON SOIL INSTABILITY...
MAINTAINING A RISK OF LANDSLIDES THROUGH MONDAY MORNING.
RAINFALL IN THE FORECAST...ON TOP OF THE CUMULATIVE RAINFALL OVER THE LAST THREE WEEKS...WILL KEEP WESTERN WASHINGTON SOILS TO THE POINT WHERE THEY ARE NEAR THE USGS LANDSLIDE INDEX. A DIMINISHING RISK OF LANDSLIDES IS EXPECTED MONDAY THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF THE WEEK AS CONDITIONS DRY OUT SOMEWHAT. WHILE THE USGS RAINFALL THRESHOLDS WERE DESIGNED FOR THE SEATTLE AREA OF THE PUGET SOUND...
MOST OF THE LOWLANDS OF WESTERN WASHINGTON ARE SIMILARLY SUSCEPTIBLE TO LANDSLIDES CAUSED BY WET SOILS. AREAS MOST SUSCEPTIBLE TO LANDSLIDES UNDER THESE CONDITIONS ARE STEEP COASTAL BLUFFS AND OTHER STEEP HILLSIDES. FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT CURRENT CONDITIONS...
