Melting Snow Causes Heavy Flooding in Wash. State

Chris Caviezel, who has lived at Snoqualmie Pass for about seven years, said conditions were the worst he has seen.

Patricia Mathis, left, and her husband Frank Mathis watch the Puyallup River rise outside their...

Patricia Mathis, left, and her husband Frank Mathis watch the Puyallup River rise outside their Sumner, Wash., trailer park Wednesday,Jan. 7 2009. Sumner officials recommended Rainier Manor residents and nearly 400 others to seek higher ground. The three main highways across the Cascade Range were closed and the National Weather Service issued flood warnings for a number of major rivers in western Washington. (AP Photo / Ingrid Barrentine)

(AP)

"We're getting avalanches and we're being flooded," Caviezel said.

As of early Wednesday evening, Marblemount saw nearly 6 inches of rain and almost 7 inches of rain fell at Snoqualmie Pass in the past 24 hours.

The weather service predicted another 4 to 8 inches of rain would fall on the coast and Cascades through Wednesday night and 1 to 3 inches elsewhere in the region.

Several dozen people and a number of pets were rescued by boat Wednesday morning after being trapped by high water outside Orting, Pierce County sheriff's Detective Ed Troyer said.

The weather service warned that rain-saturated snow would place even more weight on Spokane rooftops, increasing the threat of collapse. The city's schools will be closed Thursday, giving its 29,000 students a third unscheduled day off this week.

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The state Fish and Wildlife Department said six wild elk that took refuge in a storage barn in Metaline Falls were killed Tuesday when the snow-laden roof collapsed. Officers said it was rare for elk to be so desperate that they would enter a barn.

Over the past two weeks, extreme temperatures in Alaska — 60 below zero in Stevens Village, which is about 90 miles northwest of Fairbanks — have grounded planes, disabled cars, frozen water pipes and even canceled several championship cross country ski races.

In Oregon, high winds toppled trees along U.S. 26, forcing the highway's closure and stranding some motorists while crews worked to clear the road. The weather service posted flood warnings for areas along several rivers and a flood watch for all of northwest Oregon.

Snow, sleet and freezing rain made roads hazardous across the Great Lakes region into New England on Wednesday, forcing the closure of hundreds of schools.

The weather service issued winter storm warnings and ice storm warnings from Pennsylvania into Maine, and winter weather advisories for parts of Michigan and Ohio.