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Current Conditions
The
La Niña oceanic oscillation brought cool, rainy, stormy days to
Thurston County throughout the wet season in 2011 and 2012.
Recent data indicates this pattern is disappearing in the tropical Pacific and will begin to return to normal by mid spring 2012.
March - April 2012 - The National Weather Service is anticipating a collapse of the La Nina oceanic pattern to bring the Pacific Northwest and "Normal" Spring and Summer. Current models predict a return to normal conditions by late April. This means spring and summer should be considerably better than 2010 and 2011. Keep your fingers crossed.
NOAA Link to Climate forecasts
This web page provides the latest information on storm events, groundwater levels, river flows and other information.
Conditions Bulletin
What's the Weather?
What are the River Conditions?
Thurston County Emergency Management provides timely data on river levels and background information on when to expect flooding.
What are the Groundwater Conditions? March 2012
Current Flooding Threat is - None - Follow link for explanation
Narrative Explanation of Current Conditions:
.UPDATE: March 30, 2012 - Above average precipitation and generally below average temperatures have plagued March. Current precipitation at the Thurston County Courthouse is 8.10 inches. Average for March is 5.08 inches
March 2012: The final month of winter and the first month of Spring has been a wet and cool one. March precipitation is currently 1.5 inches above average. By the close of the Month, the rainfall exceedence should be approximately 3+ inches above the average in the eight to nine inch range (average is five inches). March is notoriously wet and cool and, in fact, is generally wetter than February. Because the winter months have been long and protracted, the groundwater levels and streamflows are approximately 20 percent higher than average for this time of year. The highest groundwater and streamflows are typically the second week in March. This year the levels are still near peak for the year. Repeated storms since January have kept water levels high across the board and should begin to decline after the wet pattern finally diminishes in April.
There are currently no warnings or expectation that flooding will occur, however one large storm could cause some localized (albeit short lived) flooding in low lying areas. If flooding does occur it is not anticipated to be widespread or damaging.
PREVIOUS STATEMENTS:
January 24, 2012: - A Series of strong storms coinciding with an arctic air mass created conditions of heavy snow and significant accumulation of freezing rain the week of Jan 16- Jan 20th. Many areas near Olympia saw up to 20 inches of snow and over 1/2 inch of freezing rain on top the snowfall. This created severe conditions with nearly unprecedented tree fall and plant damage resulting in massive electrical grid failures in Thurston County. The end of the week should bring relief from rain and wet conditions. Minimal storms are forecast after Wednesday the 25th so conditions are expected to improve
Jan 11, 2012 - January continues the below normal precipitation pattern for the winter and groundwater and stream levels remain below normal for this time of year. There are no flooding alerts issued for our area at this time.
December 31, 2011 December has been one of the driest on record. A huge area of persistent, record high pressure has moved south but is still in the neighborhood. That was until December 25th when a strong westerly jet stream began ushering in our more typical wet December weather. Currently (December 30, 7:00am) we have accumulated only 4.6 inches for December at the Thurston County Courthouse in Olympia. December is historically the wettest month for Western Washington with an average of 8.11 inches. Because of the unprecedented dry period beginning at the end of November, Rivers, streams and groundwater have returned to well within their banks and safely under ground.
Thurston County monitors groundwater levels at 10 monitoring stations in the Salmon Creek Drainage Basin -- an area in south-central Thurston County, south of the Olympia Airport. This area is prone to groundwater flooding. Please follow these steps to find data about groundwater elevations near your property.
Note:
These charts are updated regularly. Although you might see a
2010 date on the bottom of the PDF, the last data point is actually
past the listed date -- in 2011. | Manual Water Level Charts for Each Well (PDFs) - | ||
| LRS-08 | LRS-12 | |
| LRS-09 | MW-03A | |
| LRS-11A | Groundwater Elevation Data Table- All Wells | |
Scott Lake Groundwater Conditions
Click here for
Scott Lake Groundwater Elevation Data
Scott Lake Manual Groundwater Depth Data
What's Happening With the Tides?
Contact Us
Contact Mark Biever, R.P.G, L.P.E.G by e-mail bieverm@co.thurston.wa.us.
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