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Rainfall Records Announced; More Damage Feared

Posted: 7:49 am PST January 13, 2006Updated: 2:08 pm PST January 13, 2006

As a new storm brought a new round of rain to Western Washington Friday morning, officials worried about the potential for more landslides and flooding, and warned that saturated landscapes cannot hold much more water.

Video: Residents Work To Stop Rising Water

On Thursday, the 25th straight day of rain in Seattle, the National Weather Service announced that single-day records for rainfall had been set a day earlier at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and the airport in Olympia.

Friday's rain extended the string to 26 days, and forecasters predicted more over the next 10 days.

"What we need is a reprieve," Tony Fantello, maintenance and operations manager for Pierce County Water Programs in Tacoma, told The News Tribune. "Everything is just overtaxed. Even 24 to 36 hours of dry conditions really help take the heat off."

Seattle meteorologist Danny Mercer said his best guess was that rain would continue to fall every day until Seattle ties the 1953 record of 33 consecutive days of rain on Jan. 20 or breaks it Jan. 21.

"We have a front coming in almost every single day, with very few breaks in between these systems," Mercer said.

A respite could come Sunday or late next week, but more likely the rain will only lessen, possibly with a few hours of scattered sunshine, he said.

On Wednesday the weather service reported .94 of an inch of rain at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, breaking the old record for Jan. 10 of .71 set in 1979. A record of 1.56 inches was set at Olympia Airport, breaking the previous mark of 1.12 set in 1976.

Record rainfall was also reported Jan. 5, when 1.33 inches fell at Sea-Tac, exceeding the mark of 1.2 set in 1954.

Flooding along numerous rivers was generally easing as the waters receded early Friday. As of early Friday, the only flood warnings were for the Chehalis below Centralia and the short, flood-prone Skokomish in Mason County.

On the Eastside, high water along the Snoqualmie River forced road closures and crews to work overtime. Get the complete list of King County roads that have been closed here.

The state Department of Transportation said a number of the roads it maintains were affected by flooding. Get the complete list of state roadways affected by flooding.

Washington 107 was closed indefinitely three miles south of Montesano while state road crews labored to build a temporary gravel bypass.

Washington 166 remained closed with a five-mile detour in Port Orchard because of an unstable slope.

Washington 131 in Silver Creek was closed 1.7 miles south of U.S. 12 and U.S. 12 was closed near the Thurston-Grays Harbor county line, both because of water over the road.

Amtrak passenger trains were running between Seattle and Portland, Ore. Authorities hoped to resume Amtrak and commuter train service north of Seattle on Friday afternoon.

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