The King County Flood Warning Center, which has been monitoring rain-swollen rivers since midday on Jan. 13, has issued a Phase II flood alert level for the Green River. Only minor flooding could occur as a result of controlled increased flows on the Green River, and only in areas without river levees upstream of Auburn.

Meanwhile, the Snoqualmie and Tolt rivers remain at Phase II flood alert levels, with very minor flooding of low-lying areas noted.

Flows on the Green River are expected to reach or exceed 7,000 cubic feet per second (CFS) late Friday evening, Jan. 14, or early Saturday morning, Jan. 15, as part of planned releases from Howard Hanson Dam, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ flood-control dam in the upper Green River watershed. Releasing water now provides the Corps with additional flood-storage capacity for anticipated heavy rainfall later this weekend.

As of 7 p.m., the sum of the Snoqualmie River’s three forks was 15,850 CFS, while the Tolt River was at 3,370 CFS. No significant impacts have been reported as a result of these minor flood levels.

King County staff will continue to monitor stream gages and weather reports, and will provide updated information on river conditions as necessary.