Heavy rain, snowmelt lead to flooding on Grays Harbor County roads

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A confluence of heavy rain and snowmelt is creating a mess on local roads with several streets in Grays Harbor County flooding on Thursday morning, Jan. 6.

The combination of the two weather events led the National Weather Service in Seattle to issue a flood watch on Thursday. The flood watch will remain in effect through Saturday afternoon, Jan. 8.

“Excessive runoff may result in flooding of rivers, creeks, streams, and other low-lying and flood-prone locations. Creeks and streams may rise out of their banks,” the National Weather Service said in a statement.

The forecast through Friday, Jan. 7, calls for accumulations of 3 to 6 inches of rain in the Olympics, 4 to 9 inches for the Cascades, and 2 to 4 inches in the lowlands.

Flood watch areas include Aberdeen, Hoquiam, Olympia, Seattle and Tacoma. Heavy rainfall is also increasing the chances of landslides in some areas with at least one reported in the Redmond area.

This story will be updated.