Seattle weather: What a difference a year can make
Apr 23, 2017, 8:38 AM
April 2016 and April 2017 have been quite different. (AP)
(AP)
A glance outside told a much different story just one year ago. Oh, those were the days … hot days.
“After smashing a high-temperature record on Monday, Seattle broke yet another on Tuesday,” MyNorthwest reported on April 19, 2016.
April 2016 was a hot month for Seattle weather records and quite different than the current, long stretch of rainy days — a dynamic not heard of since Katy Perry started writing songs.
Seattle thermostats hit 89 degrees on April 18, 2016, breaking a 122-year-old record for the date. Temps reached 81 degrees over the next two days. As MyNorthwest was reporting on the record-setting temps throughout the region, the National Weather Service was delivering good news that relief was on the way with temperatures dropping to the lower 70s, and there was even a chance of rain.
But that was before La Nina came to town last season, leading to a stark contrast this month.
By April 18, this year, Seattle had experienced 139 days of measurable rain since October, when the weather service marks the start of the “water year.” That’s a new record — the previous being 137 days of rain in 2010-11 and in 1998-99. And it doesn’t look like the rain will be stopping anytime soon.
On April 19, Seattle weather dealt scattered showers with highs in the 50s, according to the weather service. NWS also notes that on April 17, Seattle hit 51 degrees — the warmest overnight low in five months. And on April 13, there was heavy hail in Kent.
But no worries. Warmer Seattle weather could be just around the corner. According to the National Weather Service, the Northwest is likely to experience temperatures just slightly above normal between May and August.
