By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
The rain this weekend got me thinking about river levels.
Personally, I keep my eye on the Newaukum River, even though my neighbors tell me it’s never gotten so high as to cross the road where my house is.
A quick look this morning eased my mind, and reminded me I ought to share the web address to the National Weather Service’s river level observation and forecasts for Western Washington.
So I’ve added, under “Other useful web links” a new link called “River levels”
It has super good information. You can click on “Centralia-Mellon Street” for example and bring up a graph that shows you the Chehalis River at that spot has risen over the past two days to just over 51 feet and is expected to peak Tuesday afternoon at just under 54 feet.
But not to worry, since flood stage there is 65 feet.
It’s a great resource. You can of course see the same information about the Cowlitz River, the Skookumchuck River and more.
Right now, the only river showing near flood stage is the Skokomish northwest of here.
Another of my favorite places to check when mother nature starts getting squirrelly is the National Weather Service’s forecast office in Seattle.
Similarly is a map of Western Washington with colored areas for such things as winter storm warnings and flood advisories. Just click on your town and you can see a detailed seven-day forecast.
Today? Chehalis, rain. Morton, rain.
But also, in the east end, you’ll see a “winter storm warning” and see that very early this morning, the weather people posted an urgent message about the central and north Cascades seeing the first significant snowfall of the season.
So under “Other useful web links” on the right-hand column of Lewis County Sirens I’ve added “Weather forecasts”
Enjoy.
By the way, if my news stories have captivated you to the point you’ve never looked at the right-hand sidebar on this web site, take a looksie.
You can link to places to check who’s in the Lewis County Jail, the Thurston County Jail and even look up basic information about Superior Court cases.
You can jump to read local newspapers that surround Lewis County, plus a couple more.
If you have an idea about a web link you think would be useful, shoot me an email – sharyn.decker@lewiscountysirens.com
One more thing: my postings get stored under four basic categories; Top story of the day, Sharyn’s Sirens roundup, News briefs and Columns and commentary.
I rarely write anything like a column, but do publish occasional guest columns and commentary. If you have something to say that seems worthwhile and interesting for readers, let me know.
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter
my pleasure George!
The weather forecasts and the river levels will be awesome tools to use. Before, we’ve had to rely on others to dig them up and provide us the links, and you have them right here…. Thank you!