EVERETT — Another day, another storm prediction.
It must be November in Snohomish County.
The National Weather Service in Seattle on Monday issued a winter storm warning for the mountains and another flood watch in the lowlands.
Forecasters said the wet conditions and flooding could persist into Thursday.
“Overall it’s a good day and a half and, of course, the flooding will linger longer,” said Brent Bower, a National Weather Service meteorologist.
Expect a blustery and rainy Tuesday with gusts as high as 50 mph. Other areas to the north and south and without the shield of the Olympic Mountains could get hit harder. The winds could blow down trees, break limbs and cause power outages, the weather service warns.
A high temperature of 56 is possible Tuesday with up to a half inch of rain in Everett. As much as three inches of rain could dump on Darrington, according to forecasts.
Up to two feet of new snow was likely by late Monday night in the mountains, including Stevens Pass. Snow levels started out at 1,000 feet Monday morning and were expected to rise to 6,500 feet overnight.
The snow is forecast to turn into rainfall and then back to snow by Tuesday night.
People living near the rivers should stay abreast of the weather reports, officials said.
“The rivers are already swollen and it could easily match or exceed the peaks we saw this weekend,” Bower said.
Minor to moderate flooding is forecast on stretches of rivers in the north and east county.
In a written statement, the weather service warned: “Rivers have barely had time to recover and recede from the last round of flooding. In addition, the soils are saturated, leading to prime runoff conditions.”
The weather service reported that more landslides are possible. Two landslides occurred on the main railroad track between Tacoma and Nisqually on Saturday. One of the slides was reported to be 40 feet wide and 15 feet deep.
The saturated soil undermines tree roots, and, with the possibility of high winds, the Snohomish County PUD is bracing for more outages, utility spokesman Neil Neroutsos said.
About 2,500 PUD customers lost power over the weekend. The outages were scattered across the county. The largest one was in Mukilteo where about 1,200 customers lost power.
The snow in the mountains could be a boon for skiers. Mount Baker is scheduled to open on Thursday.
Stevens Pass is scheduled to open in late November, conditions permitting, according to its website.
Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446, stevick@heraldnet.com
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