The Palouse will be under a freezing rain advisory from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. today and an air stagnation advisory until 10 a.m. this morning, according to the National Weather Service. Rain is expected today through Thursday throughout the region before temperatures decrease and snow becomes a greater possibility. A quarter to one-half inch of rainfall is possible Tuesday night and one-half to three-quarters of an inch is possible Wednesday.
Palouse Fire Chief Mike Bagott said he is not expecting anything catastrophic and he and his crew are not in "panic mode," but residents should always be prepared for the worst.
"If we do have flooding, I would say it's more likely to be the somewhat typical-type flooding that we get here on a year-in and year-out basis," Bagott said. "(But) be prepared to be out of the house and go to friends' houses or hotels or what have you if things go substantially wrong or substantially worse than we would anticipate."
Bagott and many city leaders throughout the area remember the 1996 flood that hit the Palouse. Bagott recalled standing water covering Palouse's Main Street from the west to the east end.
"(The 1996 flood was) something that nobody around here had ever seen before as far as the amount of impact that it had," Bagott said.
Bagott said that year temperatures went from freezing to the low 50s with rain in a matter of days. Highs are expected in the 30s to low 40s this week.
"Right now we're still not looking at conditions that we anticipate being nearly as bad as what we saw back then," Bagott said.
Del Downs, Colfax streets superintendent, said the Colfax Public Works Department filled sand bags and is prepared to distribute them wherever they may be needed. Downs said city workers removed piles of snow and are in the process of clearing storm drains from Main and Mill streets.
"As we progress along, we'll be going to other streets in town and try to get them cleaned up," Downs said.
Downs said the department has its "trash" pumps ready to go as well. They would be used if deep standing water needs to be pumped or the Palouse River gets above the flood stage and blocks drainages, Downs said.
"We're about as ready as we can be," he said.
In Pullman, city workers were also hard at work Monday preparing for possible floods, Mayor Glenn Johnson said.
"If residents want to check their storm drains and make sure that the storm drains are open so water can go in those storm drains that would be great," Johnson said.
Moscow Mayor Bill Lambert also encouraged residents to clear storm drains near their property. If they are unable to, he recommended calling the Public Works Department to let them know of a clogged drain.
"As long as it's a slow thaw, everything should be OK," Johnson said.
Tyler Palmer, deputy director of operations in the Moscow Public Works Department, said he and his staff have paid close attention to the National Weather Service's forecasts and the city has a detailed flood response plan.
He said the department has identified areas prone to flooding and sandbags are ready to be deployed if needed. He said he sent a memo to his staff, Moscow Police and Fire and others about the anticipated warmer weather and each department's role in the case of a flood.
Garrett Cabeza can be reached at (208) 883-4631, or by email to gcabeza@dnews.com.
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