Chelan Co. recovering after severe storm, torrential rains
WENATCHEE, Wash. - A severe storm rolled through Chelan County on Wednesday night, dumping about two inches of rain in less than an hour as lightning flashed and thunder crashed.
There was so much rain it triggered flash floods in some places, leaving a muddy aftermath.
The day started out normally enough for the central Washington community - with blue skies and highs in the 90s. But suddenly a black cloud moved in and created havoc.
"We had hail even," said Michele Kiehn. "It was raining so hard you could hear it against the windows - it was raining really, really really hard. It was just bouncing up off the ground. I've never seen it rain like that before - ever."
A drainage ditch on No. 2 Canyon Road usually has no more than a trickle of water during the summer. But last night it was five feet deep - topping its banks.
The torrent drowned a yard at Austin Azurdia's home - turning his green lawn into a swimming pool - and then a patch of mud.
"For 20 minutes it was just insane," he says. "I ran to my car to move it inside because it has a broken window on it. I was drenched from just running to the car."
At the Wenatchee Racquet Club, rainwater and mud poured inside the indoor courts. People who came to play doubles did double duty with squeegees.
Farther down the road, county trucks were still plowing off mud and muck on Thursday afternoon.
Tim Weston got his mom and dad out Wedmesday evening when mud and water overwhelmed the culverts. He says he got them out just before the roads became impassable.
"Six, seven o'clock - that's when the roads were history. I'm glad nobody tried to get out - they would have been stuck in all this mud," he said. "I don't think they'd have made it through."
The Wenatchee area gets an average of about seven inches of rain a year - which means they received three months worth on Wednesday.
There were no reports of injuries - but one horse was carried away by the high water and wound up against the side of a barn. The horse lived but has extensive cuts and bruises.
A section of Highway 97A between Entiat and Chelan was covered by mud - but it's now open again.
There was so much rain it triggered flash floods in some places, leaving a muddy aftermath.
The day started out normally enough for the central Washington community - with blue skies and highs in the 90s. But suddenly a black cloud moved in and created havoc.
"We had hail even," said Michele Kiehn. "It was raining so hard you could hear it against the windows - it was raining really, really really hard. It was just bouncing up off the ground. I've never seen it rain like that before - ever."
A drainage ditch on No. 2 Canyon Road usually has no more than a trickle of water during the summer. But last night it was five feet deep - topping its banks.
The torrent drowned a yard at Austin Azurdia's home - turning his green lawn into a swimming pool - and then a patch of mud.
"For 20 minutes it was just insane," he says. "I ran to my car to move it inside because it has a broken window on it. I was drenched from just running to the car."
At the Wenatchee Racquet Club, rainwater and mud poured inside the indoor courts. People who came to play doubles did double duty with squeegees.
Farther down the road, county trucks were still plowing off mud and muck on Thursday afternoon.
Tim Weston got his mom and dad out Wedmesday evening when mud and water overwhelmed the culverts. He says he got them out just before the roads became impassable.
"Six, seven o'clock - that's when the roads were history. I'm glad nobody tried to get out - they would have been stuck in all this mud," he said. "I don't think they'd have made it through."
The Wenatchee area gets an average of about seven inches of rain a year - which means they received three months worth on Wednesday.
There were no reports of injuries - but one horse was carried away by the high water and wound up against the side of a barn. The horse lived but has extensive cuts and bruises.
A section of Highway 97A between Entiat and Chelan was covered by mud - but it's now open again.