Seattle gets rare burst of sunshine after historic gloomy weather
Feb 18, 2020, 8:46 AM | Updated: 11:35 am
(Space Needle webcam via National Weather Service)
After getting the wettest start to a year in over a decade, the Seattle area is finally getting something that resembles a streak of sunshine.
Seattle area gets wettest start to a year in over a decade
The National Weather Service is calling for “mostly sunny and dry” weather starting Tuesday, and continuing through Thursday. And while that may just be a three-day period, it’s significant in the larger context of an extremely rainy start to 2020.
Mostly sunny and dry Tuesday through Thursday. Chance for rain on Friday. Highs warming up from the 40s on Tuesday, to the upper 40s and mid 50s on Friday. #wawx pic.twitter.com/GLaWYZIR89
— NWS Seattle (@NWSSeattle) February 18, 2020
In a 29-day period in January, Seattle saw just three days where there wasn’t measurable precipitation. That makes the idea of three consecutive sunny days in February that much more out of the ordinary for the region.
Seattle ties for most rainy January days in over a decade
A recent report from CNN detailed the city’s rainy day woes, pointing out that just two days in all of December “were even considered partly sunny, and those days still managed to have an average of 70% cloud cover in the sky’s above.”
Add in the fact that until recently, Seattle hadn’t experienced an official sunny day since November 30, and this week marks a needed reprieve.
Could this be the day? Last time Seattle had a clear day, sunrise to sunset cloud cover 0 to 30%, was 80 days ago on November 30th. There was a little fog at Sea-Tac after sunrise but it is clear now and looks to be clear the rest of the day. Wed and Thur look good too. #wawx
— NWS Seattle (@NWSSeattle) February 18, 2020
The upcoming run of sunny weather will also be accompanied by frigid overnight temperatures in the low 30s, so be sure to either park indoors if you can, or have an ice scraper ready for the morning.
Rain is supposed to return to Seattle by the weekend, but that will be followed by another stretch of dry weather ranging from partly cloudy to mostly sunny.