Be ready for some heavy rainfall throughout this week; the National Weather Service says we are under a flood watch until Friday afternoon.

Several inches of rain are expected. The excessive runoff may cause flooding of rivers, creeks, streams, and other low-lying and flood-prone locations. Areas with poor drainage could also be affected.

The flood watch covers most of Western Washington and some parts of Oregon. You can get flood safety tips and resources at weather.gov/safety/flood.

In past years, Cowlitz County and some local municipalities have offered sandbags to citizens to help mitigate flooding, but as of now we have not heard any word on whether they plan on doing that this year.