While moderate flooding is happening, major flooding is forecast to happen before the river falls below flood stage early Tuesday morning.
Widespread flooding is expected from Fall City downstream through Carnation and Duvall. Water will cover much of the farmland and several roads, according to county flood experts.
Flood waters are running fast and deep in many Carnation neighborhoods Sunday night. The rising Tolt River swallowed up mailboxes and street signs and washed out roads. The Tolt River recorded levels above flood stage, but unlike the Snoqualmie River, The Tolt is no longer under a Flood Warning.
Wendy Ward has seen this type of flooding many times before.
"When it come up like this, we become an island. No one can come in or out. Everybody hunkers down," said Ward.
That deep water forced road closures and detours throughout town.
Much of the Puget Sound region enjoyed clear skies Monday, a day after Seattle was soaked with more than 2 inches of rain. At one point during the weekend, flood warnings had been posted for more than 20 rivers in the state, but that was down to nine by midday
Monday with the water rapidly receding.
In Snoqualmie, people were keeping an eye on the Snoqualmie River as it crept towards toppling its banks. Don Mejia started moving his stuff to higher ground.
"We're just getting ready, pretty much. So if it floods, we don't have any major earthbeds and stuff -- get them out of the way," said Mejia.
The river was still flowing fiercely over Snoqualmie Falls as people like Art Sancho came to watch.
"It's a once in a lifetime experience for anyone to come out and see it as it is right now," said Sancho.
Down Interstate 90, Issaquah Creek looked more like a raging river than a neighborhood stream. Len Roughgarden has seen the creek flood his daughter’s home before, but he’s more concerned about the next possible act from Mother Nature.
"Right now, all those trees are saturated with water. If we get a big wind, these trees are gonna come on down," said Roughgarden.
Back in Carnation, Wendy Ward says she won’t push her luck driving through flood waters until it all goes away.
"You can't really tell. The water's right up to the edge, so if you slide off even a little bit, the edge of the road could be washed away and then you're in big trouble," Ward said.
No deaths or serious injuries have been reported. Most damage was from landslides and flooding in low-lying rural areas. Geologist Isabelle Sarikhan with the state Department of Natural Resources says hillsides throughout the region are saturated, so the threat of more slides will continue this week.
King County reminds people to not drive cars, vans or trucks through flooded areas. This is the cause of most flood-related deaths in our state.
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