SEATTLE -- A strong, wet, warm storm dropping heavy rain in the Olympics and Cascades will cause flooding on Western Washington rivers -- while high winds are expected overnight across the interior lowlands of the region, forecasters said.

A flood watch is in effect for most areas of Western Washington through Wednesday night, the National Weather Service said. The flood watch is for rivers in Grays Harbor, Clallam, Jefferson, Skagit, Whatcom, King, Kitsap, Lewis, Mason, Pierce, Snohomish and Thurston counties.

KIRO 7 Chief Meteorologist Rebecca Stevenson said the bulk of the second storm will happen in the overnight hours of Tuesday to Wednesday. The heaviest rainfall will be to the north near the Cascades and on the Olympic coast through early Wednesday and the heavy rain will shift southward through the afternoon focusing on the south Cascades by late day.

Up to half-an-inch of rain is expected in the Central Sound by 7 a.m. Wednesday, up to two inches is expected in the north interior and southwest interior of Washington -- the highest amount of rain is forecast to fall in the Olympics and Cascades with up ten inches.

A wind advisory is in effect from 10 p.m. Tuesday to 10 a.m. Wednesday. Forecasters said the strongest winds will hit the North Sound and northern interior at 20 to 30 mph, with gusts to 45 mph Tuesday night before increasing across all of western Washington through the early morning. Winds this strong can snap branches, topple small trees and cause local power outages, the weather service said. The rain should taper off from north to south beginning late Wednesday night. High pressure will build over the area Thursday and Friday with dry weather making a comeback.

Emergency management officials are looking at where flooding is likely to hit the hardest in Lewis County.

Lewis County is preparing for a large amount of rain to fall at the Randle and Packwood area on the upper Cowlitz River.

Officials are also concerned with the Nisqually River as two years ago it destroyed a road leading to a community near Ashford and a repeat is possible.

VIDEO: Lewis County Officials Preparing For Heavy Rains

High winds affected ferry traffic for most of Tuesday.

Ferries on the Port Townsend/Keystone run were running up to an hour late at midday, but the delay was eventually shortened.

At one point, the ferries were fighting sustained winds up to 25 miles an hour.

City engineers in Seattle said landslides are a possibility over the next few days. An area on the West side of Queen Anne Hill along Lake Union gave way several years ago after becoming saturated and threatened a building on top.

Officials said homeowners should check any steep slopes on their property and look for cracks in the ground that could indicate a hill is shifting. People should also be aware of trees that are leaning more than before.