4 feet of rainfall in Seattle since October is wettest on record
May 5, 2017, 6:02 PM | Updated: 6:51 pm
(File, Zach Davies)
(File, Zach Davies)
Seattle’s broken a new weather record in the aftermath of the spring storms that rolled through the Puget Sound area with hail and thunder on Thursday. We’ve received nearly 4 feet of rainfall from October to May.
RELATED: Up to 2,500 lightning strikes during severe Western Washington storm
KIRO 7 Meteorologists report that Thursday’s storm – that’s left trees and powerlines strewn in its wake – totaled .20 inches of rainfall. Furthermore, Thursday was the busiest severe weather day for the Puget Sound region since warnings records began being reliably kept in 1986.
“The long-range computer models predicted it would be a wetter and cooler spring, and, boy, were they right,” KIRO 7 Meteorologist Nick Allard said. “ The good thing is, we should be trending toward a warmer and drier pattern, which will be a welcome change!”
The six-month period from October through March is undoubtedly the “rainy season” for Seattle and Western Washington. Many locals joke that the rain continues into “June-uary,” which means from May to July – the city still feels chilly, rainy, and gray like winter.
Previous records note 44.5 inches (113 centimeters) of rain for the October 2015 to April 2016 period. But the current October to May season beat it, with the specific total of 45.90 inches.
Seattleites also saw the snowiest winter in five years, with snowfall totals hitting 14 inches in some Western Washington cities.
The winter storm season was notable for back-to-back weather systems that were slightly wetter and warmer than normal.
