BELLINGHAM, Wash. - The view outside Kathie Buss’ work at the 76 gas station on Iowa Street in Bellingham has changed over the last few days.
“This morning when I got here it wasn’t bad,” she said.
Throughout the day, she’s seen water creep up closer and closer to the gas pumps and completely cover the road.
“I know that all the businesses on this road are just tired of the rain,” Buss said.
That rain has caused the major thoroughfare to close once again because of the shallow lake that’s now formed from a nearby creek.
Normally, what would be a bustling gas station, is now an empty spot for people to watch cars recklessly drive through the flooded road.
“I’m tired of it and I pray to God that we get some help,” Buss said.
But sadly, that reprieve from the rain is going to take a few days.
A flood watch is in effect Tuesday through Thursday for Whatcom County. Forecasters say 2 inches of rain could fall in the county and up to 4 inches is possible in surrounding mountains.
“It’s certainly not all clear yet,” said Matthew Cullen, meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
According to Cullen, in the month of November, Bellingham has received over 13 inches of rain and that record setting number is expected to go up even more because of Tuesday.
“Just very relentless all throughout the month of November,” Cullen said.
He says there’s been very little time for rivers and creeks to recede, which is why we keep seeing roads like Iowa and other nearby streets covered in water.
“You see all these streets that are still closed, and the water’s still there and then here comes more and it’s going to flood it on top of that,” Cullen said.
And he says this rainfall is something to expect over the next couple days, starting off December the same way November is ending.
“It’s just the reality of having a lot of water fall into the same place repeatedly,” Cullen said,
It’s a reality that Buss understands but doesn’t want to accept.
“We all just want to crawl into a corner and cry because it just sucks,” said Buss.
As a result of the flooding, the I-5 offramp at Iowa Street in Bellingham has been closed since about 10 a.m., Tuesday, according to Buss.
People in the small communities of Sumas and Everson in northwest Washington were asked to evacuate voluntarily last weekend.
Both towns experienced severe flooding after days of rain earlier this month that caused an estimated $50 million in damage to Whatcom County.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.