Live updates: Rivers have crested, but Western Washington flood threat still looms
The Skagit River near Mount Vernon crested at record-breaking levels in the wee hours of Friday morning, but it’s still running dangerously high hours later. The flood wall has held so far, but a lot of water is pressing against it — and residents in Skagit County, a densely populated agricultural hub an hour north of Seattle, and elsewhere across the state aren’t out of the water yet. It could take some time before flood waters actually start to recede. Authorities are monitoring local levees and dikes. Continue reading at KUOW. (Megan Farmer)
Organizers raise alarm after spotting farmworkers in fields in Skagit County amid floods
Despite an evacuation order, some farmworkers were still at work as of Thursday morning, said Rosalinda Guillen, founder of Community to Community Development. A couple of organizers noticed about 30 to 40 workers harvesting Brussels sprouts near Burlington after dark Wednesday evening, Dec. 10. Continue reading at Cascadia Daily News. (Courtesy of Community to Community Development)
Northwest floods offer sneak peek of hotter climate’s toll
Climate scientists say December’s back-to-back atmospheric rivers and extreme flooding offer a sneak peek into our warmer future. The ocean-crossing storms known as atmospheric rivers are nothing new: They deliver precipitation up and down the West Coast every winter and are the source of close to half of Western Washington and Western Oregon’s precipitation from November to April. But climate scientists expect them to grow more powerful, arrive more frequently, and last longer as Earth’s climate keeps warming. Continue reading at KUOW. (Farmer)
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