Storm turns Mukilteo Boulevard into a river



MUKILTEO -- John Petersen shot video as the storm moved through Bainbridge Island.  The rain came down hard there and around Western Washington, catching many people off-guard.

“I was looking at the window at work, hoping I wouldn’t have to walk home in it,” says Lindsay Carpp. ”It’s kind of nice to see out the window.”

“We just looked out the window and it was pouring down buckets and buckets of rain,” says Megan Mitchell, who was visiting from Oregon. “I actually took a picture to send to friends at home; look how much it’s raining, we’re in Seattle.”

We might be used to rain here, but not this much, this fast.  The National Weather Service says some rainfall records were broken today, so it’s not a surprise there were problems on the roads.

“I’ve seen rain like everyone else, I’ve seen heavy rain,” says Drew Martin. “I can’t tell you what a 200- or 500-year storm is, but I’d say it was pretty much in that vicinity.”

Police had to close off one lane of traffic, because there was so much water flowing across Mukilteo Boulevard.

“The gutters were overflowing, the water was spewing out,” says Martin. “I happen to be an engineer so I know there’s only so much water that can do down the pipe.”

The city was already drying out this evening, making sure there was no permanent damage done to the road.