MYNORTHWEST NEWS

WA flooding leads to first confirmed flood fatality in Snohomish County

Dec 16, 2025, 7:04 AM | Updated: 4:24 pm

wa flooding damage infrastructure...

"Road Closed" signs due to recent flooding. (Photo: James Lynch, KIRO Newsradio)

(Photo: James Lynch, KIRO Newsradio)

The first flood-related death in Washington has been confirmed by the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office.

This death followed a powerful atmospheric river that drenched Washington with nearly 5 trillion gallons of rain last week. With another atmospheric river slamming the Pacific Northwest Monday, Meteorologist Michael Snyder said, “outside of the Tropics, the Pacific NW is forecast to be the wettest place in the world over the next six days.”

The death was a 33-year-old man, who died after driving past “road closed” signs and ended up in a ditch, submerged in approximately six feet of water. The fatal accident happened at Lowell Larimer Road and Marsh Road around 1:30 a.m. Tuesday.

The man died at the scene, despite swimmers making contact with the vehicle and pulling him out of the car.

No one else was inside the car.

It’s unknown at this time whether drugs or alcohol were contributing factors to the accident.

This is a developing story, check back for updates

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WA flooding leads to first confirmed flood fatality in Snohomish County