Rain, Rain, Go Away!

Greetings from soggy Snoqualmie. Starting Tuesday night and going into Thursday morning, the Snoqualmie Valley received about three inches of rain. This caused the Snoqualmie River level to rise to about 45,000 cubic feet/second (cfs) and for the mayor to declare a state of emergency in Snoqualmie. Just so you know, the river is now down to 17,400 cfs and normal for this time of year is about 12,000 cfs. Fortunately, our house is on high grounds and miles away from the river. Unfortunately, Jackson's daycare is right in the middle of the flooded area of Snoqualmie.

Yesterday, I received a call from the daycare at about 9:30 AM, saying that they were starting to evacuate the daycare and some of the homes in that area. So by 10:00 AM, I had Jackson and was heading home. It was chaos at the daycare... people everywhere. Many people I didn't know (I'm assuming husbands and family of the employees) were working quickly to clear out the first level. It was a sad sight, but they assured me that it would all be fine - they have gone through this before many times.

So Jackson and I have been hanging out at home for the last two days, and we will likely be home tomorrow too. I would not expect the daycare to be open until Monday because of the flooding... So it goes. Jackson and I are making the best of it. I have enjoyed being home with him, but it has been challenging too, since I'm still trying to do some work while I'm at home. Tom is in Portland for meetings this week too, so it is been a full couple days on our own. We're excited for Tom to get home tomorrow night.

Here are a few pictures from the Seattle Times showing the flooding in the area.

Flooding Aftermath in Local Towns: Kevin Hodges, 29, lower left, of Seattle made a special trip out to Snoqualmie Falls Thursday morning to take a picture after the river crested. About to start a new job next week, Hodges said he had some "time to kill." Hodges takes a picture here because the falls are not visible from the observation deck due to heavy mist.


Flooding Aftermath in Local Towns: Sara Posey, left, and Matt Hedger with Snoqualmie City Parks unclog a storm drain Thursday morning, as post-flood clean-up starts. In the background is Snoqualmie Elementary School, still closed.

Flooding Aftermath in Local Towns: Visitors, some with umbrellas, hoping to see Snoqualmie Falls from the observation deck Thursday morning after the river crested couldn't, due to heavy mist.

Flooding Aftermath in Local Towns: The Snoqualmie Chainsaw Carvers Depot flooded, as seen Thursday morning.
Traci's Note: The chainsaw carvers are only 2 blocks from the day care. The day care would fall in between the river and this location.

Flooding Aftermath in Local Towns: Matt Hedger of Snoqualmie City Parks tries to locate a clogged storm drain Thursday morning, as post-flood clean-up starts.

And if you need a little Jackson fix... here a link to some pictures out on Photoworks from the last week. Some you have seen, others you have not.

http://www.photoworks.com/members/slideShow.jsp;jsessionid=EA5BBACD03A75C31A12DEC258F8AA294?id=49488981&toh=m&key=tracineuberger&cb=PW&guest=true&svr=web16