A "fire hose" of a storm moving through the Northwest has raised the chance of rivers flooding in Western Washington and avalanche danger in the Cascades.

The National Weather Service has issued a flood warning for the Snoqualmie, Tolt and Puyallup Rivers.

"The fire hose is aimed at Western Washington," said KIRO 7 meteorologist Sam Argier. "The heaviest precipitation will be focused over the Cascade Mountains, where 4 to 8 inches of rainfall is forecast through Wednesday. Around the Sound, the heaviest rain will be focused north of Seattle and south of Tacoma with 0.5 to 1.5 inches are expected."

• Argier Blog: Warm rain to lowland snow chance
• Avalanche threat, heavy rain close I-90
• Video forecast: Rain heaviest in the mountains

In the mountains, the freezing level will rise to 7,000 feet. On top of recent heavy snow, that creates an extreme avalanche danger in the Cascades and Olympics.

Both Snoqualmie and Stevens passes were closed early Tuesday for avalanche control.

Rain and melting snow will fill rivers, and the Weather Service has issued a flood watch for most Western Washington rivers not covered by the flood warning through Thursday afternoon.

A cool-down this weekend will bring a chance of lowland snow, Argier wrote in his blog.

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