The Vancouver metro area avoided snow Tuesday morning, but heavy rain prompted the National Weather Service to issue a flood watch and advisory for the region.
The advisory put in place around 4:30 a.m. Tuesday pertains to urban and small streams across Clark County. Around that time, rainfall gauges were measuring rates of a .10 to .30 inch of rain per hour, which should result in flooding. A half-inch to 1 1/2 inches of rain had already fell in the three or so hours before the advisory was issued.
The Vancouver metro, Battle Ground and Woodland were listed among the locations expected to see flooding.
“Excessive runoff from heavy rainfall will cause flooding of small creeks and streams, urban areas, highways, streets and underpasses as well as other drainage areas and low lying spots,” the advisory says.
The advisory is set to expire shortly after 8 a.m. Tuesday, but the flood watch will remain in effect until late tonight.
The issued watch says landslides and debris flows are possible during the flood event.
Emergency radio traffic monitored at The Columbian this morning is mostly free of police and firefighter chatter about crashes. However, traffic maps show vehicles on interstates 5 and 205 backing up earlier than usual.
— NWS Portland (@NWSPortland) February 12, 2019
Slow traffic starts near the 78th Street exits on Interstate 5. The crawl begins at Northeast Padden Parkway on Interstate 205.
Washougal School District was the only district in the county to announce a school day delay. Its three-hour late start is due to inclement weather and unsafe driving conditions, the school district said in a Facebook post.
Buses 2, 9, 17, 57 and North Fork Road are on snow routes.
The eastern Clark County community, along with the neighboring town of Camas, have been slammed with winter weather in the past week. In a post to Washougal School District staff and families, the administration thanked them for their patience during a Monday district-wide closure.
“District maintenance crews have used the time (Monday) to ensure that sidewalks and parking lots around the district are passable and safe for students when school resumes,” the post said, adding officials were cautiously optimistic the classes would resume Tuesday.
Southwest Washington Child Care Consortium also closed its center in Washougal.
