Record-breaking rainfall pours on Puget Sound
Aug 13, 2014, 6:05 AM | Updated: 9:26 am
Record rainfall throughout the Puget Sound has put an end to the area’s heat wave, but forecasters say the heaviest precipitation is over.
KING 5 meteorologist Rich Marriott reports that in SeaTac, since midnight, there has been over 1.07 inches of rain.
The previous rainfall record for August 13 was .33 inches, says Marriott.
“It’s been an amazing amount,” he says. “The month on average has .88 inches (of rain.) So we’ve already gone over that.”
Heavy rain flooded the Factoria area of Bellevue and emergency crews had to pull several cars from the water.
Seattle City Light reported it had about 4,300 customers without power early Wednesday in the White Center area.
Marriott says heavy showers should be expected throughout the morning, but rain will decrease later Wednesday.
“The really nice thing is that it’s livable out there today,” said Marriott.
Forecasters say sunbreaks can be expected in the afternoon with high temperatures reaching the high 60s to low to mid 70s.
Marriott says a couple more scattered showers can be expected Thursday and Friday as temps continue to climb, but with highs staying in the mid to high 70s.
In Eastern Washington, the rain provided needed relief for crews battling wildfires on multiple fronts.
The National Weather Service says up to a half inch of rain fell in the overnight storm on the east slopes of the North Cascades, including some parts of Okanogan and Chelan counties where wildfires have been burning.
Meteorologist Jeremy Wolf in the Spokane office says while that should help firefighters, the service also issued a flash flood watch for the area because of the chance of rapid runoff from areas scorched by fire.
Wolf says many other parts of Eastern Washington did not receive significant rain Tuesday night and Wednesday morning and the risk of new wildfires from lightning strikes continues. A red flag warning for critical fire weather is in effect until Thursday morning in the area that includes Yakima, Moses Lake, the Tri-Cities and Spokane.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
