Rising rivers Friday, another round of heavy rain this weekend

Seattle - Heavy rain will taper off in the lowlands Friday afternoon, but some Western Washington rivers will rise to moderate or major flood stage by this evening.

After a brief break overnight from the rain, heavy showers have returned to Western Washington this morning. Widespread rainfall will transition to lighter showers this afternoon and evening and we should be dry overnight tonight. 

Some area rivers will crest this evening well above flood stage, including the Snoqualmie River at Carnation, which is expected to crest slightly above major flood stage. Remember the old saying, "Turn around, down drown!" It's not worth driving through flood waters.

Saturday will start off dry, but heavy rain returns as an atmospheric river takes aim at the Pacific Northwest again starting Saturday night. The heaviest band of rain will shift north into Snohomish, Skagit, and Whatcom counties on Sunday and eventually into Canada, leaving most of Washington with just light to moderate showers. Monday, that firehose of rain shifts south again bringing heavy rain to the area once again. Rivers to the north like the Skagit will see more significant flooding issues on Monday evening and Tuesday morning. The Skagit River is forecast to crest well above major flood stage on Tuesday morning.

Next week looks drier and sunnier, but also cooler. Highs will be in the mid 40s with overnight lows dipping to the mid 30s.