SNOHOMISH — Peering out from under the edge of her multicolored umbrella, Piper Fecht and her 10-year-old daughter Sadie stood at the northern bank of the Snohomish River Thursday morning as the water’s surface swelled to near record heights.

Forecasters projected “catastrophic” flooding across much of Snohomish County as the Snohomish River rose Thursday to its highest water level in 35 years.

The river surged at Snohomish to a preliminary 33.57 feet at 6 a.m., slightly breaking a record 33.5 feet set in November 1990. Water levels were expected to reach or break records across much of the river valley by nightfall.

Fecht, 52, remembers the record-setting 1990 flood: she was in high school and volunteered to bring food to residents whose farmland had disappeared underwater. On Thursday

See Full Page