East Pierce County Preps For Minor Flooding Friday

BONNEY LAKE, SUMNER — Residents of Sumner, Bonney Lake and even Puyallup will want to be prepared for the possibility of flooding interrupting some of their daily travels this Friday.

Early Wednesday afternoon the City of Sumner sounded the alarm that the White and Puyallup rivers in particular are expected to swell Friday, and will likely cause minor flooding— which in turn could cause closures of trails, roads and even parking lots.

Fortunately, the city is not concerned about any major desctruction.

"At the levels currently predicted, we have seen in the past water over/near trails, roads and parking lots along the rivers," the city wrote. "These levels may mean road/trail closures but hopefully not to the level of evacuating businesses or homes."

The latest predictions from the National Weather Service show the Puyallup River in Puyallup peaking at around 4 p.m. Friday, with waters peaking at about 25 feet— well into the "action" phase but slightly below what would qualify as minor flooding. The White River will be worse off, entering the action phase around 4 a.m. Friday and remaining elevated through the middle of next week.

The elevated river predictions are consistent with recent forecasts, which predict more rain Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

>> Learn more about how Sumner is responding to potential flooding concerns.