Heavy Rains, Snowmelt Team Up To Swamp Northwest

CENTRALIA, Wash. (AP) - Washington state officials say the danger of avalanches will keep Interstate-90 closed at Snoqualmie Pass at least until Friday, and Interstate-5 may remain flooded over the weekend.

An emergency management official says the flooding near Seattle is "an all-timer."

The flooding was touched off by a combination of heavy rain of 6 inches or more and a warm spell in the mid-40s that rapidly melted the snow in the Cascade Range.

There have also been mudslides and avalanches. Thousands in the Northwest were kept out of their homes. The conditions also brought freight trains to a standstill and stranded hundreds of trucks along the major highways that link Seattle's busy ports with markets around the country.

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