Coastal Flood — South Coast, Washington

2022-01-03 · South Coast, Washington

Event narrative

The worst flooding in a number of years (over a decade per the Emergency Manager) in the Tokeland area. Water level made it up to the Tokeland Hotel. In the Raymond area, a 1/2 miles stretch of Highway 101 was closed, and 7 homes in the Peter St and Sherman Avenue reported flooding. During this time high seas and high river levels in the area contributed to the flooding. As a result, the tide peaked at 13.4 feet around 1230PST at the Tokeland tide gauge.

Wider weather episode

The first of two strong Pacific fronts brought high winds to the coast as well as gusty winds to the Willamette Valley and interior lowlands of southwest Washington. This storm generated large seas impacting the coastline, and combined with rising river levels and high astronomical tides, resulted in some flooding along the coast due to poor drainage. In addition to the wind and rain, heavy snow fell in the mountains and in the Columbia River Gorge where transportation corridors between western and eastern Oregon and Washington were temporarily closed due the heavy snow accumulation.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1004253. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.