After wild weather day in Western WA, coastal flood warning remains

On the heels of another wild weather day in Western Washington, a coastal flood warning remains in effect in the Puget Sound region, including Seattle, Tacoma and Olympia.

Significant coastal flooding is expected until 1 p.m. Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service. Low-lying property “will be inundated,” the weather service said, and tides will likely come within 6 inches of Tuesday’s high water marks.

The warning comes after rainfall and Tuesday’s king tide caused water to flood at least 13 homes in Seattle’s South Park neighborhood. Neighbors said it was the worst flooding they had seen in years.

High water also forced road closures throughout the Puget Sound region.

Wednesday will otherwise bring milder weather to Seattle, according to the weather service. Temperatures will remain in the 40s, the agency said, and the city will see a chance of showers.

Meanwhile, about 16,000 Puget Sound Energy customers remain without power in outages reported Tuesday afternoon and evening.

A winter weather advisory is in effect until 10 a.m. Wednesday in the Cascade Mountains above 2,500 feet, where winds are gusting as high as 60 mph, according to the weather service.

Both Stevens and Snoqualmie passes are open. The Washington State Department of Transportation advises traction tires while traveling on the passes.

Still, winter storms that swept through the Pacific Northwest continue to impact travel. In Seattle, the Spokane Street Bridge will remain closed for at least two weeks so crews can repair mechanical issues that worsened after last week’s ice-storm power outage, according to city transportation officials.

Fifty flights to and from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport were canceled Wednesday and another 50 were delayed as of 8:15 a.m., according to FlightAware, which tracks cancellations and delays. That’s an improvement from Tuesday, when 89 flights were canceled and 311 were delayed.

More than half the Wednesday cancellations at Sea-Tac are operated by Southwest Airlines, which axed 79% of its Seattle flights and 62% of its flights nationwide.