This could be Seattle’s warmest January weather on record
Jan 22, 2019, 5:45 AM | Updated: 5:57 am
(AP)
While temperatures in many parts of the United States plummet close to zero, Seattle could be barreling toward its warmest January ever.
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According to the National Weather Service, the average high temperature at Sea-Tac for the first 16 days of January was 51.8 degrees Fahrenheit — that represents the warmest temperature on record over that period in any recorded year, dating back to the 1890s.
In Seattle, the average temperature so far this January is 45.7 degrees, while January 2018’s average was 45 degrees flat.
The NWS also notes that in over 120 years of record-keeping, the average temperature has gone over 45 degrees in consecutive Januaries just once, all the way back in 1940 and 1941.
That could very well continue for the remainder of January, with high temperatures forecasted for over 50 degrees.
Rain will return to Western Washington Tuesday and Wednesday as the warmer than average temps continue. The NWS calls for 48 hours of rainfall; up to two inches on the coast, and an inch or less in the interior lowlands.
Despite the warm winter weather in Western Washington, the mountains continue to get snow.
A Winter Storm Warning is in effect for the west slopes of the Cascades today above 3500 ft. Expect 1-2 feet of new snow through this evening, heaviest amounts from Mount Baker to Stevens Pass. pic.twitter.com/DFBIzXRjNS
— NWS Seattle (@NWSSeattle) January 22, 2019