Flash Flood — Chelan, Washington

2019-07-02 to 2019-07-03 · near Entiat, Chelan, Washington

Event narrative

A Flash Flood swept across Highway 97A 4 miles north of Entiat. Water and mud was reported by local news media to be up to 2 feet deep. Two trucks were reported stuck in the mud. The road was closed for about 24 hours while highway crews worked to clear the mud and debris.

Wider weather episode

During the afternoon of July 2nd numerous slow moving thunderstorms containing heavy rain formed near the center of an upper level low pressure over the western Columbia Basin and the east slopes of the Cascade Mountains. A rich moisture feed wrapping around this upper low pressure allowed some of these storms to produce heavy rainfall over limited areas. A spotter near Waterville reported 1.29 inches of rain from a series of thunderstorms training through the area. Several reports of flash flooding were received from the region with multiple roads blocked by flowing water, mud and rocks.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (47.7314, -120.2324)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 833990. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.