Now, this feels like April in Seattle.
For the first time since the end of last year, the region has racked up nine straight days of rain. And we’ve even had more rainfall than we usually see in the first 10 days of April.
Despite this March being the second-driest on record, and January also being drier than average, the region is getting back on track in terms of precipitation for the year, said weather-service meteorologist Dana Felton on Thursday morning.
“So far, we are ahead of the game, and there’s more on tap for today.”
A typical April usually sees around 2.71 inches of rain for the whole month, and of that, usually about 1.03 inches is recorded in the first 10 days of the month, Felton said. By midnight Wednesday, 1.61 inches had been recorded at Sea-Tac for April.
One-tenth of an inch of precipitation had fallen by 5 a.m. Thursday at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, according to the National Weather Service in Seattle.
The rainfall total for the water year, which runs from October through April, is a little more than 2 inches below the normal average.
Good news for people who don’t want to end the ski season just yet: Rain in the lowlands means snow in the mountains. Stevens Pass posted a celebratory video on Facebook of snow falling Wednesday night accompanied by the hashtag #FinishStrong.
Friday could see some sun breaks in the afternoon, but Saturday through Tuesday look soggy.
“If you want a dry time outside, tomorrow afternoon (Friday) is probably your best bet, at least through the weekend,” Felton said.
Temperatures will follow that same pattern, with cooler highs on the days it rains and a warmer day Friday when the sun is out, he said.
The pattern over the first third of the month, with scattered showers, sun breaks and occasional hail is normal for this time of year here, Felton said.