Waterworld

For those who read this blog in the state of Washington, you probably already know what I am talking about, but those outside the state may not realize that the greater Seattle area has been converted to Waterworld.

Remember just a couple of weeks ago when it was freezing cold here and we were shoveling deep snow and praying for warmer weather and rain to melt the stuff away? Well those prayers were answered in the extreme as we were hit with very warm winter temperatures and rain which fell as much as up to 20 inches deep in some areas of the mountains and I believe nearly 5 inches in one day right at our home. That is a lot of water.

As you can imagine, with all that water and quick snow melt, the local rivers flooded and we were left with floods all over the place. I believe they had said that 22 rivers in Western Washington had reached flood stage. Many of my usual detours to and from work are now under water and for a few days, there was no real way too or from the greater Seattle area other than by air or ship.

I-5 south to Portland was and remained closed until this afternoon as it was submerged in places. All three major mountain passes out to the east were also closed as they were also under water and at extreme avalanche and mudslide risk although I-90 finally opened again just today as well.

I suppose you could have gone north to Vancouver, Canada if you wanted but why would you want to do that? The Olympics aren’t for another year.

I’m sorry to see so many people have to deal with the destruction and flooding really. I however am a bit of a gawking fan of extreme weather. I couldn’t resist pressing my luck and seeing what there was to be seen on my way home from work the past couple of days.

Yesterday I visited Snoqualmie Falls on the way home from work and with the river at record flood stage, it was AMAZING. Unfortunately, I didn't bring a camera. I did come back today and have another look. The river was down quite a bit but it was still quite a site to behold.

Yesterday the observation deck wasn't even visible in a shroud of spray. Being on it was like being on the Maid of the Mist at Niagra. Today it was still pretty misty but not quite as bad.

A few brave and wet souls still couldn't resist the view though.

It really was an awesome site though. You could see the power of the water and feel the rumble in the ground even.

After I visited the falls, I drove through the town of Snoqualmie from which the flood waters had just receded. It was sad to see families working, hauling out furniture, appliances and carpeting into piles in their front yards. I didn't take any pics of that as it didn't seem appropriate.

Thankfully everything is receding now and things are getting back to normal. We wish our best to those recovering from the storm damage. It has been quite a winter already and we are really just getting started.

On a lighter note, I spotted a sign near the falls that I thought had an interesting graphic. It seems something isn't allowed here. Anyone care to take a guess in the comments as to what that might be? I'll post the answer with the complete picture of the sign in a day or two.