Green River to Get High Tech Flood Warning Tools SEATTLE (KPLU) - Problems with the 50 year-old Howard Hanson Dam could mean managers will have to release a lot of extra water down the Green River this winter. Now, the federal government has promised new high-tech tools to help give a heads-up about potential floods.

The equipment is designed to analyze the weather phenomena known as "atmospheric rivers." They're called that because they move immense amounts of water from one part of the world to another. One example would be the "Pineapple Express" storms that often soak the Pacific Northwest.

Brad Coleman -- with the National Weather Service in Seattle - says the new equipment can give forecasters an edge that can buy extra time for emergency response.

"This additional sensor will allow us to see how much water is going overhead in south Puget Sound and where it's headed," he says. "And if it's headed up the Green River valley, that will alert us that we need to be watching out for heavy rainfall potential."

The government will also be adding more instruments to measure rain and river flow.

Elected officials including Senators Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray have been pushing for the additional flood protection tools for the Green River since similar equipment was recently installed on the Washington coast. It should be in place in the Green River valley within a month.

Meanwhile, officials in King County have started erecting blue-and-white signs along area roads showing evacuation routes in case of severe flooding.

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