BURLINGTON, Wash. — Residents across western Washington scrambled to higher ground Saturday after a relentless atmospheric river pushed rivers to record crests and forced mass evacuations, including a middle-of-the-night order covering all of Burlington. Fueled by days of Pacific-sourced moisture and soaking mountain rain, the system flooded homes, cut off roads and left officials warning that another storm could hit before swollen rivers fully recede, Dec. 13, 2025.
How the atmospheric river turned the Skagit Valley into a moving lake
The Skagit River near Mount Vernon crested at a record 37.7 feet early Friday and remained above major flood stage into Saturday, according to a National Weather Service flood warning. Forecasters said the river should keep falling toward flood stage, but could begin rising again Monday as new rain returns and dam releases continue to influence flows.
As Reuters reported, the evacuation order hit Burlington — population about 9,200 — after water pushed into homes and officials worried levees could fail under prolonged pressure. “We haven’t seen flooding like this ever,” Washington Emergency Management Division spokesperson Karina Shagren said. Reuters reported evacuation notices statewide covered an estimated 100,000 people, and President Donald Trump signed an emergency declaration for Washington after Gov. Bob Ferguson requested federal help.
Rainfall totals varied widely, but much of the region took 6 to 20 inches in seven days. “That’s easily a month’s worth of rain that’s fallen in just a week,” Rich Otto, a meteorologist at the U.S. Weather Prediction Center, told Reuters.
Rescues stretched well beyond Skagit County. In an Associated Press report, a resident near Duvall said floodwaters climbed with shocking speed before deputies evacuated his family by boat. “It was hours, not days,” Eddie Wicks said. No deaths had been reported Saturday, but officials warned of mudslides and debris flows after days of pounding rain saturated hillsides and recent burn scars.
Next up: another atmospheric river — and little time to drain
The weather break may be brief. Local outlet Cascadia Daily News reported the next atmospheric river is expected to start Sunday night and could deliver 3 to 4 inches of rain to parts of the Cascades in Whatcom, Skagit and Snohomish counties — a fresh surge of runoff into basins that are already saturated.
“This system is expected to produce more precipitation across the region and additional rises on area rivers will be possible,” National Weather Service meteorologist Dev McMillian said. U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, speaking alongside Ferguson, added: “It’s not over yet.”
Atmospheric river déjà vu: Washington has been here before
For communities along the Skagit and Nooksack, this atmospheric river is also a reminder of unfinished recovery. After the 2021 Sumas-area flood, residents were still rebuilding and debating long-term fixes, as described in a KUOW look back. In a 2021 explainer, Reuters described an atmospheric river as “a river in the sky,” a narrow corridor of water vapor that can unleash extreme rainfall when it collides with terrain and stalls.
History reaches further back, too. During a 2006 Pacific Northwest flooding episode, the Los Angeles Times reported the Skagit River crested at 39.77 feet as officials warned another round of rain could follow — a reminder that the valley’s flood risk has a long memory.
For now, emergency managers are urging residents to stay off flooded roads, keep go-bags ready and watch for renewed evacuation orders as the next atmospheric river approaches.
