Every time Western Washington gets significant rainfall, the Skagit Valley prepares for flooding. Currently, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is redrawing the flood plain maps for the Skagit River Basin. The earliest renditions of the maps show the 100-year flood mark being, in some cases, 8 feet higher than previously thought! This has created consternation among cities in the Valley. Such changes in flood elevation could mean new businesses would have to be built on stilts or have enough dirt brought in to raise property elevations before development. The cities plan to fight the Corps' findings because of the potential economic impact.

This is all happening against the backdrop of what was very nearly, according to some hydrologists and engineers, the worst flood ever on the Skagit River. In early November, when Western Washington saw record rainfall, the Skagit rose rapidly. There were predictions that many parts of Mount Vernon and Burlington would be severely flooded.

So what happened?

According to those who made the predictions, the storm system that was dumping all the rain, made a last minute turn to the south. Rain that would have drained into the Skagit, ultimately dumped elsewhere... the 100-year flood, avoided.

We'll never really know what could have happened, but it does make the debate over these soon-to-be released flood plain maps very interesting.

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