Third driest January looms for Seattle
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Seattleites are trading raincoats for sunglasses as blue skies break through the usual January gloom, paving the way for one of the driest starts to the year on record.
Why it matters: Winter rain is as much a part of Seattle's identity as coffee and evergreen trees, so a nearly rain-free January feels like a glitch in the matrix.
Driving the news: With a scant 1.04 inches of rain so far this month, Seattle is on track to see its third driest January on record, said Dustin Guy of the National Weather Service Seattle.
- The driest Januarys on record were in 1985 with 0.58 inches of rain and 1949 with 0.77 inches, per the NWS.
The big picture: The current weather pattern is shaped by atmospheric ridges and troughs across the Northern Hemisphere, Guy told Axios.
- An upper-level ridge over the western U.S. is keeping the Pacific Northwest dry and cool, he said, in sharp contrast to an upper-level trough bringing Arctic air, deadly cold and snowstorms to the East.
The latest: The ridge, which has been in place for about 10 days, is expected to reestablish itself after a weak weather system moves through today and Friday, potentially keeping the Puget Sound area dry and cool through the end of the month, Guy said.
What they're saying: "It hurts when it's cold and it doesn't snow, and hurts even worse when it snows in Alabama, Florida and Louisiana," said Justin Shaw, a snow lover and meteorologist with the Seattle Weather Blog.
Context: La Niña winters usually bring colder temperatures and more snowfall to the Pacific Northwest due to cooler-than-normal ocean temperatures that influence weather patterns.
- However, a weak La Niña is less predictable and can lead to unexpected impacts.
Threat level: Snowpack, a critical factor for water supply and arguably the most important climate-related variable in the Pacific Northwest, was at just 65% in the central Cascades as of this week, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
- Abnormally dry conditions and moderate drought persist in the central and northern Cascades and a statewide drought emergency declared by the Washington State Department of Ecology last year remains in effect, per the Office of the Washington State Climatologist.
What we're watching: Skiers hoping for fresh accumulation might get a break soon with forecasts suggesting that snow could return by Jan. 31, Powder Poobah meteorologist Michael Fagin told Axios.