Warm temperatures and plenty of rain swelled North Olympic Peninsula rivers Monday, spreading water over roads and farmlands and threatening homes in the Sequim area.
The Dungeness River was expected Monday night to crest near its all-time high of 8.35 feet recorded in November 1990, National Weather Service officials said.
The Elwha River was expected to crest at 23.2 feet Monday evening, the officials said.
Both the Elwha and Dungeness were expected to recede today as rainfall diminishes.
The culprit was a storm with its roots in the Hawaiian Islands that brought unusually warm temperatures to Western Washington beginning Sunday.
The warmth translated to a snow level of higher than 8,000 feet, causing snow and ice in the Olympics to melt and send waters down the tributaries.
One of those tributaries was the swollen Dungeness River, which feeds Kinkade Creek southwest of Sequim.
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