Seattle gets an early taste of fall
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Summer isn't technically over, but Seattle's weather is about to make a convincing case otherwise.
Driving the news: An early-season Pacific storm is expected to sweep into Western Washington Wednesday, bringing widespread rain, gusty winds and temperatures in the 60s.
- Seattle has a 90% chance of rain, with up to about a half-inch possible over the next two days.
- The heaviest rain will fall Wednesday along the coast and in the Olympic Mountains, where some spots could see 2–3 inches, NWS Seattle meteorologist Kirby Cook tells Axios.
What they're saying: If this storm arrived next month "we wouldn't even really be talking about it," Cook says.
- But in early September, "it'll kind of feel like October," he says.
- And for those of us mourning summer, he says, "Summer's not over. It's just a taste of fall."
The big picture: The forecast soaking comes days after a 33-day dry streak, and amid a deadly wildfire season and drought conditions across the state.
- The widespread "wetting rain" — which NWS defines as at least a quarter-inch — should help tamp down fires across the region.
Threat risk: Gusts could approach 40 mph in parts of Western Washington, including the coast, Admiralty Inlet, the San Juans and around Bellingham.
- NWS has issued wind advisories for some of those areas.
- Because trees are still fully leafed out, some downed limbs and power outages are possible, Cook says.
What's next: The cool, showery pattern is expected to hang around through Labor Day weekend — and NOAA's latest outlook favors a wetter-than-normal September across the Pacific Northwest.
- But Cook says that's no reason to hunker down.
- Think of it as practice: Fall will be here soon enough.