Flood Warning Issued for Cowlitz River at Kelso Through Saturday Morning
This alert is no longer in effect.
NOAA issued it on April 6, 2026, 4 months ago. Warnings of this kind stay in effect for hours to a few days, so this page is a historical record of what was issued, not a current warning. For conditions where you are right now, check weather.gov (US), weather.gc.ca (Canada), the Met Office (UK), or the Bureau of Meteorology (Australia).
Areazine synthesizes this NWS weather alert directly from NOAA's official public data feed. See our methodology for full source attribution and refresh cadence.
The National Weather Service has issued a flood warning for the Cowlitz River at Kelso, with minor flooding expected to impact low-lying roads and neighborhoods through early Saturday.
Read this weather record in 30 seconds
- Record type
- Flood Warning
- Affected area
- Cowlitz County, Washington
- Issued
- April 6, 2026
- Issuing authority
- NWS Portland OR
Flood notices turn on location and timing. Treat the named area as this record's scope; do not assume nearby counties, parishes, or waterways were included.
Record status: historical. It was issued 4 months ago; use the issuing agency's live warning service for current conditions in Cowlitz County, Washington.
Alert Details
The National Weather Service in Portland, OR, has issued a Flood Warning for the Cowlitz River at Kelso. The warning is in effect from Friday afternoon, March 13, through early Saturday morning, March 14.
Affected Areas
The warning specifically impacts Cowlitz County in Washington, focusing on the Cowlitz River at Kelso. Impacted locations include the Cowlitz Gardens neighborhood and various secondary roads, pastures, and lowlands upstream of Kelso.
What You Should Do
Residents and motorists are advised to take the following precautions:
- Do not attempt to drive around barricades.
- Do not drive through flooded areas. Most flood deaths occur in vehicles.
- Follow the safety mantra: "Turn around, don't drown."
- Monitor local weather updates for further developments.
Expected Conditions
Minor flooding is forecast for the region. As of 9:43 AM PDT Friday, the river stage was measured at 20.9 feet. The river is expected to oscillate around the flood stage of 21.5 feet, reaching a maximum forecast value of 21.6 feet this evening. Bankfull stage for this area is 18.0 feet. At levels above 21.5 feet, flooding begins on secondary roads and in the Cowlitz Gardens neighborhood.
Timeline
The Flood Warning was issued at 10:01 AM PDT on March 13. The onset of flooding conditions is expected to begin around 4:03 PM PDT Friday. The warning is currently scheduled to remain in effect until 5:38 AM PDT on Saturday, March 14. The National Weather Service expects to issue the next statement by 10:15 PM PDT Friday evening.
Original source: NOAA Official Notice ↗
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