County sending flood patrols to Snoqualmie Valley

Published 4:12 pm Friday, December 5, 2025

The Snoqualmie River has potential to flood the week of Dec. 8 as rainfall continues in what has been a very wet season.

King County is expecting the river to reach Phase 3 flooding, which is considered moderate. Phase 3 is the point in which King County usually sends out flood patrols, and the county has decided to send out flood patrols the afternoon of Dec. 8.

“We typically send out flood patrols to check on river levee function, look at any known trouble spots where we might have seen some water seeping through during past floods, maybe check on any areas where we’ve made repairs, etc.,” said King County spokesperson Doug Williams.

The Snoqualmie River at Carnation is currently forecasted to reach a peak of 59.15 feet by 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 9, according to data from the National Weather Service Northwest River Forecast Center. It is then expected to drop down on Wednesday before raising to 58.02 feet by 4 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 11. “Severe flooding” is defined as the river being 54 feet or higher at the Carnation gauge, according to Floodzilla.

Williams said it is hard to predict what will actually happen during a flood event.

“This is my 21st flood season with the county, and I can honestly say that no two of these are ever the same,” he said.

Though the county cannot be certain where the river levels will end up, leaders caution residents to be prepared. Flood alerts from King County can be accessed at green2.kingcounty.gov/floodalertsystem. Floodzilla also provides flood alerts for the lower Snoqualmie Valley, sign-ups for which are at floodzilla.com/user/alerts.

King County’s “Be Flood Ready” brochure is available at kingcountyfloodcontrol.org/flood-resources/be-flood-ready-brochure.

This is a developing story.