The National Weather Service said Seattle broke it's record for winter rainfall back in mid-February but we're deferring to the one weather-related voice we trust most: Cliff Mass.
The University of Washington Professor of Atmospheric Sciences professor and KPLU personality knows a thing or two about Seattle weather and according to him, the city has now received enough precipitation since October 1 to make it the wettest winter in Seattle history.
Meteorologists consider October 1 - March 1 as the official winter. As of 1:56 p.m. Tuesday, Seattle has received 38.22 inches of rain since October 1, surpassing 1998-1999 totals.
A plot of the cumulative precipitation at Seattle Tacoma Airport (below) shows that we now have about 13 inches more than normal in the water year, which is very large, of course. The second figure shows the daily rainfall and the associated records each daily (green marks). One is struck by the high frequency of rain this winter and the fact that only a handful of days beat daily records. Slow and steady won the race.
Cliff also reminds us that while we've broken the record, we're also not done with the rain yet. Between Wednesday and Friday along we're expected to get another two-to-five inches.
· The Wettest Winter in Seattle History [CM]
· Seattle Breaks Record For Winter Rainfall (& It's Not Done Yet) [CS]
Loading comments...