Flood Alert: Mountain rain to fill the Yakima River to the brim west of Tri-Cities

The Yakima River is forecast to rise to near flood stage by the end of this weekend due to rain falling from the Eastern Cascade Mountains of Washington, flowing east to the Tri-Cities.

The National Weather Service predicts the river will crest early Monday morning at 12.26 feet about 12 miles west of Richland. The closest gauge to the Tri-Cities monitoring the river is at Kiona by Benton City.

The predicted crest is about .75 feet below the official flood stage of 13 feet.

But it is above 11 feet, which is considered the “action stage,” or the level at which people should take precautionary actions, according to the weather service.

The river, which was at about 10.25 feet at Kiona on Friday morning, was expected to reach 11 feet as soon as 9 p.m. Saturday. It’s expected to remain at the action state level until late Tuesday night.

Residents near the river at Benton City and West Richland should be prepared to secure any belongings near the water and move animals out of low-lying pastures. People should use caution along its banks.

Most rivers in the Northwest will be running full, fast and cold this weekend through the early in the work week, says the National Weather Service. Small streams and creeks could rise quickly.

A flood watch has been issued for much of Yakima County, with the Naches River expected to flood from Naches to Yakima from Friday evening through early Monday morning.

In the Tri-Cities a 50% chance of rain was forecast Saturday, dropping to 40% on Sunday. Skies should be sunny to mostly sunny Monday through at least Thursday.

Saturday should be the warmest day until next Thursday, with highs of 81 forecast both days. High temperatures should drop about 10 degrees to a high of just 70 on Monday, but then highs should gradually rise through Thursday.

This story was originally published June 10, 2022 at 11:17 AM.