SKAGIT COUNTY — The sun set Thursday over the soggy and worried people of Western Washington while the fast-running Skagit River, full of sediment and debris, swelled.

SKAGIT COUNTY, Wash. — The U.S. National Weather Service has issued a Level 2 (Get Set) Flood Watch for all of Skagit County within the 100-year floodplain, effective until Thursday afternoon.

Portions of western Washington state have experienced a month’s worth of rain within the past few days, causing historic flooding, damaging mudslides and more than 100,00 people facing potential evacuations.

BNSF Railway crews worked over the weekend to repair flood-damaged sections of the railroad in Washington state, which was hit by record rainfall last week. Some areas of western Washington and Oregon received 10 to 17 inches of rain,

A century-old Skagit River dike is holding as 75,000 residents remain under evacuation orders. Officials warn flood risks will continue into Saturday morning.

Drier weather is coming, but flooding effects are likely to continue for days across portions of western Washington state and northwestern Oregon.

By David Ryder and Steve Gorman BURLINGTON, Washington, Dec 12 (Reuters) - Residents and emergency crews in towns along the rain-engorged Skagit River in western Washington state braced on Friday for potential levee failures while National Guard troops assisted in evacuations after days of severe flooding in the Pacific Northwest.

About 78,000 residents of a major agricultural region north of Seattle were ordered to evacuate the Skagit River’s floodplain, officials said