Flash Flood — Douglas, Washington

2013-09-05 · near Mc Carteney, Douglas, Washington

Event narrative

A flash flood deposited mud and rocks approximately two feet deep over Jameson Lake Road at Sulphur Springs Road. Damage costs were estimated.

Wider weather episode

An upper level low pressure system over western Oregon ejected a negatively tilted shortwave trough of lower pressure over the region during the evening hours of September 5th. Precipitable water values were twice the normal value for early September. A line of strong thunderstorms tracked across east-central Washington bringing strong winds and heavy rain. The hardest hit areas were across the Waterville Plateau, the Wenatchee area and east slopes of the northern Cascades. Strong winds did result in some fallen trees, but the greatest impact was due to the heavy rainfall. Training thunderstorms and intense rainfall resulted in flash flooding across multiple drainages. Recent burn scars from 2012 and 2013 wildfires also helped to create a damaging flash flood event.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (47.6001, -119.6727)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 475833. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.