Flooding in January 2009 closed a section of Interstate 5 south of Seattle. Washington State Dept. of Transportation
Many of the worst West Coast winter floods pack a double punch. Heavy rains and melting snow wash down the mountains together to breach riverbanks, wash out roads and flood buildings. These events are unpredictable and difficult to forecast. Yet they will become more common as the planet warms and more winter precipitation falls as rain rather than snow. University of Washington mountain hydrology experts are using the physics behind these events to better predict the risks. "One of the main misconceptions is that either the rain falls and washes the snow away, or that heat from the rain is melting the snow,” said Nicholas Wayand , a UW doctoral student in civil and environmental engineering. He will present his research Dec.
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