Puget Sound’s rainy season kicks off in earnest
Sep 13, 2019, 12:01 PM | Updated: Sep 15, 2019, 8:30 am
Rain at Pike Place market in Seattle. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, File)
(AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, File)
After one final gasp of warm weather, fall weather has officially arrived in the Puget Sound region.
Thunderstorms reported across Western Washington
“We’re heading into the time of year when the temperature changes most rapidly in an overall downward trend,” the National Weather Service said on Twitter. “Coming up: expect more clouds and showers, especially Saturday night through Sunday morning when the next weather system pushes through the area.”
Weekend rainfall began Saturday night, with the NWS initially noting that there was “a chance for record rainfall” in the area on Sunday. The most updated predictions called for roughly 0.5 inches of rain, which would approach the record for that day in Seattle of 0.69 inches, set in 1959.
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We’re heading into the time of year when the temperature changes most rapidly in an overall downward trend.Coming up: expect more clouds and showers, especially SAT night through SUN morning when the next weather system pushes through the area. #wawx pic.twitter.com/LerudrmOUq
— NWS Seattle (@NWSSeattle) September 13, 2019
That kicks off the wet Seattle season in earnest, with rain in the forecast every day between Sunday, Sept. 15, and Thursday, Sept. 19.
High temperatures during that period will hover between the low to mid-60s. Over the next few months, that will be followed by a period of what the NWS calls “rapid cooling,” continuing all the way through December.
On Thursday night, Seattle saw its second thunderstorm inside of a week’s time. Both were a surprise to many as the region does not often experience such a show of light and sound. About 2,200-2,300 lightning strikes occurred within two hours just last Saturday night.
Puget Sound’s final heat wave before fall begins
“It’s very unusual for Western Washington,” said Kirby Cook, science and operations officer for the National Weather Service. “Not unheard of, but unusual … we just don’t get a lot of thunderstorms here in Western Washington. They are not as common as in some places like Oklahoma or Florida; places that have warmer temperatures and abundant moisture to drive thunderstorms.”
