How high the rivers in Whatcom County have risen each
winter, when floods were declared disasters, and where flood risk is mapped.
Each winter's highest river level
Tap a winter for its peak.
Where flood risk is mapped
Blue areas are FEMA's official flood zones. Tap a zone
or a river gauge for details.
When floods were declared disasters
Federal disaster and emergency declarations that include flooding and named
Whatcom County. A declaration opens federal help for recovery.
November 2021
Reading this page
A "winter" is a flood season, October to September, named for the year it ends (the
2021–22 season includes November 2021). Each bar is that season's single highest reading.
Flood levels are the National Weather Service's: action (get ready),
then minor, moderate and major flooding. "Flood stage" here means minor or worse.
Heights start when the gauge's current reference begins. A gauge's zero point can be
reset over the decades; older heights were measured on another reference and can't be compared with
today's flood levels, so they are left out.
Upstream dams on the Skagit (and its tributary the Baker) store some floodwater, so
Skagit levels are partly managed.