Weather plays a trick on Halloween, and threatens minor flooding

Trick-or-treaters should carry an umbrella or — gasp! — wear a raincoat over their costumes tonight because rain and wind is in the forecast.

There’s a 50 percent chance of rain Wednesday night, coupled with winds about 15 mph gusting to about 20 mph, according to the National Weather Service forecast for Bellingham.

Heavy rain is likely Thursday, with up to 2 inches in the Whatcom County lowlands and more in the North Cascades, said meteorologist Courtney Obergfell in Seattle.

Obergfell said despite the forecast, only minor flooding is expected along the Nooksack River because the ground isn’t saturated after a relatively dry October.

“The outlook for the weekend is that a few rivers might cause minor flooding,” Obergfell said in a phone interview Wednesday.

“We’re not expecting anything super-impactful, but the rivers will continue to rise,” she said.

She said people who live near the Nooksack should pay attention to the river — especially locations near Ferndale, Deming and the South Fork Valley.

“It’s not anything super-widespread, but if you live along the river at those locations, it’s something to look out for,” Obergfell said.

According to the predictions from NOAA’s Northwest River Forecast Center, the Nooksack River will rise sharply near Nugents Corner and near downtown Ferndale on Friday.

Forecast models on Wednesday showed the Nooksack reaching minor flood stage of 18 feet on Friday evening or early Saturday morning.

At that point, the river overflows its banks and floods low-lying areas of Ferndale, fields and pastures near the river and low-lying areas downstream toward the river mouth, according to the River Forecast Center website.

“Action stage” for the Nooksack is 17 feet, a point that the river is expected to reach Friday afternoon.

First effects of flooding in the Ferndale area are expected about noon Friday, when levels reach 16 feet.

“The river begins spilling over its banks into low pasture lands, flooding some roadways that are not protected by levees, including Marine Drive and Ferndale Road,” the forecast center said at its website.

This story was originally published October 31, 2018 at 2:11 PM.