Scattered showers contribute to slow Puget Sound commute

Scattered showers slowed some commuters Tuesday morning, making traffic slightly worse than usual.

Even before 6 a.m. the Washington State Department of Transportation reported it was seeing the effects from the rain:

The National Weather Service forecasts the significant rainfall that started Monday evening will continue across the state until the weekend.

“We’re looking at totals of a half-inch to an inch in the interior lowlands, which includes the Seattle area,” said Meteorologist Johnny Burg with the National Weather Service.

Tuesday, forecasters expect occasional showers to continue throughout the day.

According to KING 5 meteorologist Rich Marriott, the high is expected to reach only 60 degrees Tuesday afternoon, likely the chilliest day this week.

The rain began moving in to Western Washington Monday afternoon, with gusty winds toppling trees in Sequim, Mount Vernon and other areas.

Forecasters had predicted up to an inch-and-a-half of rain on the coast and up to two inches over the mountains.

The NWS reports wind gusts reached 54 mph at Whidbey Island NAS, 40 mph in Bellingham, and 38 mph in Everett.

Mountain snow

The snow level is expected to drop as low as 5,000 feet by Wednesday, which would leave the first significant snow of the season on the Mount Baker Highway, Washington Pass on the North Cascades Highway, Paradise at Mount Rainier and Hurricane Ridge on the Olympic Peninsula.

Temperatures remain seasonal with highs around 60 in Western Washington and 70 in Eastern Washington.

Halloween forecast

While it’s still too early forecast the details for Halloween, Burg said the 14-18 day forecast shows warmer and wetter conditions than usual.

MyNorthwest.com’s Stephanie Klein and The Associated Press contributed to this report.