01:29 PM PST on Monday, December 26, 2005

KING Staff and Wire Reports

SEATTLE - After a stormy Christmas morning, wet weather continued to cause problems around the Puget Sound region on Monday.

A mudslide continues to alter traffic near Kirkland. Cars are being re-routed around the thoroughfare which many people use to get around Lake Washington.

The rain that just won't stop saturated the hillside and forced about four truckloads full of mud down and across Juanita Drive. It was uncertain when the road would reopen.

"That hillside has to dry out a little bit so we can check for any additional stability problems," spokeswoman Rochelle Ogershok said Monday. Crews will be assessing the situation Tuesday, she said.

There are a handful of other weather-related closures around the sound. A portion of Northeast 50th near Redmond and State Route 202 remained underwater Monday afternoon and power outages remain a large-scale problem. About 6,000 Puget Sound Energy customers were still without power. Most were in Kitsap County.

KING

Crews estimate three to four truckloads of material slid onto Juanita Drive, closing both lanes of traffic.

The holiday weekend was a record-breaker. The high Saturday, Christmas Eve, was a record 62 degrees in Seattle, well above the old 55-degree record set in 1950. Sunday's high in Seattle was 58. Tacoma's high Saturday was 63, tying a 22-year-old record.

Even Spokane had temperatures above freezing on Christmas, with a high of 48 and a low of 36.

It wasn't a good weekend for skiers and snowboarders. High temperatures and steady rain forced a weekend closure of the ski area at Stevens Pass. The Summit at Snoqualmie and Crystal Mountain were both open through the weekend despite rain and above-freezing temperatures.

Meteorologist Johnny Burg with the National Weather Service office in Seattle said freezing levels are expected to drop to 2,000 feet by Friday, when snowfall is likely.

KING

A lone buffalo wanders through a flooded field in Snohomish County.

Heavy rain on the west side of the state raised flood concerns over the weekend but only two rivers swelled over their banks: the Satsop briefly Sunday morning, and the Skokomish, which was still under a flood warning Monday. The .91 inches of rain Saturday in the Seattle area Sunday was also a record -- the old one, of 33 inches, was set just two years earlier.

Looking ahead, the National Weather Service says strong winds are possible at the coast and in the north interior Monday night and Tuesday morning.

Winds of 30 to 40 mph with gusts to 60 mph are possible along the coast Tuesday morning.

In San Juan County, western Whatcom County, the Northwest Interior and Admiralty Inlet area a high wind watch is in effect from late Monday night through Tuesday afternoon. Winds from 30 to 40 mph with gusts to 60 mph are possible Tuesday morning.