Shoreline Public Works warns of possible flooding over the weekend

Shoreline City Staff Advisory: Residents Should Get Ready for Sunday’s Pineapple Express

A flood watch has been issued for Western Washington today (Friday) due to weather phenomena known as the “Pineapple Express.”

This phenomena is the wettest-type of storms, bringing between 1-2" of rain per day for Seattle and much more near the mountains and it has an abundance of warm, tropical moisture. It also brings a very high potential for flooding, as the warm air tends to raise snow levels quite high and elevate stream flow.

City of Shoreline Surface Water Manager Brian Landau states “Residents of Ballinger Creek, Thornton Creek, Ronald Bog and other areas that have experienced flooding in the past, will want to be prepared before Sunday. Flooding is very possible.”

Community Services Customer Response Team advises residents to keep an eye on storm drains and catch basins and to clear and remove leaves and debris to make sure storm water reaches the drain system, reducing chances of flooding in yards and homes.

City of Shoreline Operations Manager Jesus Sanchez says, “The City will have Public Works staff on stand-by over the weekend to provide assistance relating to flooding. We do have sandbags and sand available at Hamlin Park Maintenance Yard near the West entrance. I advise residents to keep an eye on catch basins, and clear them of debris to prevent nuisance flooding. ”

What is the “Pineapple Express?” Seattle’s local weatherman Steve Poole says “I remember a December night in the mid 1990s when the temperature reached 63 degrees at 2 am during a Pineapple Express event. The ‘Pineapple Express’ is when a weather system originates from the Hawaiian tropics. You can usually see it on a satellite photo, where the band of rainfall stretches from the Pacific Northwest to the southwest near Hawaii.” 

(See our WeatherWatcher report)

Shoreline staffmember Jill Rucker tells us where to call:

• All questions regarding sandbag supplies pick-ups at Hamlin Park Public Works Yard or how-to techniques, debris removal, storm drain overflow, or flooding problems can be directed to our Customer Response Team (CRT) who are on stand-by this weekend by calling 206-801-2700.
• 
Downed power lines call 206-684-3000.
• Street lights out? Get the pole number then call Seattle City Light 206-684-7056.  (or report online)
• Low hanging power lines near homes call CleannScapes at 206-244-6427.